Summary
The composition of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the fin whale,Balaenoptera physalus, was determined. The length of the molecule is 16,398 bp, and its organization conforms with that of other mammals. The general similarity between the mtDNA of the fin whale and the cow is greater than the similarity between the fin whale and other species (human, mouse, rat) in which the composition of the entire molecule has been described. The D-loop region of the mtDNA of the fin whale is 81% identical to the D-loop of dolphin DNA, and the central portion of the D-loop is similar to the bovine D-loop. The accumulation of transversions and gaps in the 12S and 16S rRNA genes was assessed by comparing the fin whale, cow, and human. The sequence difference between human and the whale and human and the cow was at the same level, indicating that the rate of evolution of the mtDNA rRNA genes is about the same in artiodactyls and cetaceans. In the 12S rRNA gene an accumulation rate of 0.05% per million years places the separation of cetaceans and artiodactyls at about 55 million years ago. The corresponding figure for human and either the whale or the cow is about 80 million years. In the 16S rRNA gene a 0.08% accumulation rate of transversions and gaps per million years yields concurring figures. A comparison between the cytochromeb gene of the fin whale and cytochromeb sequences in the literature, including dolphin (Stenella) sequences, identified the cetaceans as monophyletic and the artiodactyls as their closest relatives. The comparison between the cytochromeb sequences of the fin whale andStenella showed that differences in codon positions one or two were frequently associated with a change in another codon position.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, de Bruijn MHL, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Eperon IC, Nierlich DP, Roe BA, Sanger F, Schreier PH, Smith AJH, Staden R, Young IC (1981) Sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome. Nature 290:457–465
Anderson S, de Bruijn MHL, Coulson AR, Eperon, IC, Sanger F, Young IG (1982) Complete sequence of bovine mitochondrial DNA. Conserved features of the mammalian mitochondrial genome. J Mol Biol 156:683–717
Attardi G, Chomyn A, Doolittle RF, Mariottini P, Ragan CI (1986) Seven unidentified reading frames of human mitochondrial DNA encode subunits of the respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase. Cold Spring Harbor Symp Quant Biol LI:103–114
Bibb MJ, Van Etten RA, Wright CT, Walberg MW, Clayton DA (1981) Sequence and gene organization of mouse mitochondrial DNA. Cell 26:167–180
Brown WM (1985) The mitochondrial genome of animals. In: MacIntyre RJ (ed) Molecular evolutionary genetics. Plenum, New York, pp 95–130
Czelusniak J, Goodman M, Koop BF, Tagle DA, Shoshani J, Braunitzer G, Kleinschmidt TK, de Jong WW, Matsuda G (1990) Perspectives from amino acid and nucleotide sequences on cladistic relationships among higher taxa of eutheria. In: Genoways HH (ed) Current mammalog, Vol 2. Plenum, New York, pp 545–572
de Jong WW, Goodman M (1982) Mammalian phylogeny studied by sequence analysis of the eye lens protein α-crystallin. Z Säugetierkd 47:257–276
Deveraux J, Haeberli P, Smithies O (1984) A comprehensive set of sequence analysis programs for the VAX. Nucleic Acids Res 12:387–395
Gadaleta G, Pepe G, De Candia G, Quagliariello C, Sibisa E, Saccone C (1989) The complete nucleotide sequence of theRattus norvegicus mitochondrial genome: cryptic signals revealed by comparative analysis between vertebrates. J Mol Evol 28:497–516
Goodman M (1989) Emerging alliance of phylogenetic systematics and molecular biology: a new age of exploration. In: Fernholm B, Bremer B, Jörnvall H (eds) The hierarchy of life. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 43–61
Gribskov M, Burgess RR (1986) Sigma factors fromE. coli, B. subtilis, phage SPO1, and phage T4 are homologous proteins. Nucleic Acids Res 14(16):6745–6763
Gyllensten UB, Ehrlich HA (1988) Generation of single-stranded DNA by the polymerase chain reaction and its application to direct sequencing of theHLA-DQA locus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85:7652–7556
Hasegawa M, Kishino H (1989) Heterogeneity of tempo and mode of mitochondrial DNA evolution among mammalian orders. Jpn J Genet 64:243–258
Hasegawa M, Kishino H, Hayasaka K, Horai S (1990) Mitochondrial DNA evolution in primates: transition rate has been extremely low in the lemur. J Mol Evol 31:113–121
Hayasaka K, Gojobori T, Horai S (1988) Molecular phylogeny and evolution of primate mitochondrial DNA. Mol Biol Evol 5:626–644
Hixson JE, Brown WM (1986) A comparison of the small ribosomal RNA genes from the mitochondrial DNA of the great apes and humans: sequence, structure, evolution and phylogenetic implications. Mol Biol Evol 3:1–18
Irwin DM, Kocher TD, Wilson AC (1991) Evolution of the cytochrome b gene of mammals. J Mol Evol 32:128–144
Kraus F, Miyamoto MM (1991) Rapid cladogenesis among the pecoran ruminants: evidence from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Syst Zool 40:117–130
Miyamoto MM, Boyle SM (1989) The potential importance of mitochondrial DNA sequence data to eutherian mammal phylogeny. In: Fernholm B, Bremer B, Jörnvall H (eds) The hierarchy of life. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 437–450
Miyamoto MM, Kraus F, Ryder OA (1990) Phylogeny and evolution of antlered deer determined from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87:6127–6131
Novacek MJ (1989) Higher mammal phylogeny: the morphological-molecular synthesis. In: Fernholm B, Bremer K, Jörnvall H (eds) The hierarchy of life. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 421–435
Ramharack R, Deeley RG (1987) Structure and evolution of primate cytochrome c oxidase subunit II gene. J Biol Chem 262:14014–14021
Saitou N, Nei M (1987) The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Mol Biol Evol 4:406–525
Sanger F (1981) Determination of nucleotide sequences in DNA. Science 214:1205–1210
Sarich VM (1991) Mammalian systematics: 25 years among their albumins and transferrins. In: Szalay FS, Novacek MJ, McKenna MC (eds) American Museum of Natural History symposium on mammalian phylogeny. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ (in press)
Smith TF, Waterman MS (1981) Comparison of biosequences. Adv Appl Math 2:482–489
Southern EM (1975) Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol 98:503–517
Southern SO, Southern PJ, Dizon AE (1988) Molecular characterization of a cloned dolphin mitochondrial genome. J Mol Evol 28:32–42
Swofford DL (1989) PAUP: phylogenetic analysis using parsimony, version 3.0g. Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign IL
Wilson AC, Cann RL, Carr SM, George M, Gyllensten UB, Helm-Bychowski KM, Higuchi RG, Palumbi SR, Prager EM, Sage RD, Stoneking M (1985) Mitochondrial DNA and two perspectives on evolutionary genetics. Biol J Linn Soc 26:375–400
Wilson AC, Zimmer EA, Prager EM, Kocher TD (1989) Restriction mapping in the molecular systematics of mammals: a retrospective salute. In: Fernholm B, Bremer K, Jörnvall H (eds) The hierarchy of life. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 407–419
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arnason, U., Gullberg, A. & Widegren, B. The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the fin whale,Balaenoptera physalus . J Mol Evol 33, 556–568 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02102808
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02102808