Genetics. Published Articles Ahead of Print: October 8, 2006, Copyright © 2006
doi:10.1534/genetics.106.063180


A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2006.
Originally published as Genetics Published Articles Ahead of Print on September 1, 2006.


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Doubly Uniparental Inheritance is Associated with High Polymorphism for Rearranged and Recombinant Control Region Haplotypes in Baltic Mytilus trossulus

1 Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences
2 University of Swansea

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: burzynski{at}cbmpan.gdynia.pl.

Submitted on July 10, 2006
Revised on July 20, 2006
Accepted on 20 July 2006


Abstract

Many bivalve species including mussels of the genus Mytilus are unusual in having two mtDNA genomes, one inherited maternally (the F genome), the other inherited paternally (the M genome). The sequence differences between the genomes are usually so great as to indicate ancient divergence predating speciation events. However, in Mytilus trossulus from the Baltic both genomes are similar to the F genome from the closely related M. edulis. The present study has analyzed the mtDNA control region structure in male and female Baltic M. trossulus mussels. We show that a great diversity of structural rearrangements is present in both sexes. Sperm samples are dominated by recombinant haplotypes with M. edulis M-like control region segments, some having large duplications. By contrast, the rearranged haplotypes that dominate in eggs lack segments from this M genome. The rearrangements can be explained by a combination of tandem duplication, deletion, and intermolecular recombination. An evolutionary pathway leading to the recombinant haplotypes is suggested. The data are also considered in relation to the hypothesis that M. edulis M-like control region sequence is necessary to confer the paternal role on genomes that are otherwise F-like.

Key Words: D-loop, DUI, Mytilus, control region, mtDNA recombination




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