Abstract
The nucleotide sequence of the complete mitochondrial genome of the donkey,Equus asinus, was determined. The length of the molecule is 16,670 bp. The length, however, is not absolute due to pronounced heteroplasmy caused by variable numbers of two types of repetitive motifs in the control region. The sequence of the repeats is (a) 5′-CACACCCA and (b) 5′-TGCGCGCA, respectively. The order of (a) and (b) can be expressed asn[2(a)+(b)]+m(a). In 32 different clones analyzed the number ofn andm ranged from 0 to 9 and 1 to 7. The two rRNA genes, the 13 peptide-coding genes, and the 22 tRNA genes of the donkey and the horse,Equus caballus, were compared in detail. Total nucleotide difference outside the control region was 6.9%. Nucleotide difference between peptide-coding genes ranged from 6.4% to 9.4% with a mean of 8.0%. In the inferred protein sequences of the 13 peptide-coding genes the amino acid difference was 0.2–8.8%, and the mean for the 13 concatenated amino acid sequences was 1.9%. In the 22 tRNA genes, the mean difference was 3.5%, and that in the two rRNA genes was 4.1%. The mtDNA differences between the donkey and the horse suggest that the evolutionary separation of the two species occurred =9 million years ago. Analyses of differences among the mtDNAs of three other species-pairs, harbor seal/grey seal, fin whale/blue whale, andHomo/common chimpanzee, showed that the relative evolutionary rate of individual peptide-coding genes varies among different species-pairs and modes of comparison. The findings show that the superimposition of sequence data of one lineage for resolving and dating evolutionary divergences of other lineages should be performed with caution unless based on comprehensive data.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, deBruijn MHL, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Eperon IC, Nierlich DP, Ros BA, Sanger F, Schreier PH, Smith AJH, Staden R, Young IG (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
Arnason U, Gullberg A (1993) Comparison between the complete mtDNA sequences of the blue and the fin whale, two species that can hybridize in nature. J Mol Evol 37:312–322
Arnason U, Gullberg A (1994) Relationship of baleen whales established by cytochromeb gene sequence comparison. Nature 367: 726–728
Arnason U, Gullberg A (1996) Cytochrome b nucleotide sequences and the identification of five primary lineages of extant cetaceans. Mol Biol Evol 13:407–417
Arnason U, Johnsson E (1992) The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the harbor seal,Phoca vitulina. J Mol Evol 34:493–505
Arnason U, Gullberg A, Widegren B (1991a) The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the fin whale,Balaenoptera physalus. J Mol Evol 33:556–568
Arnason U, Spilliaert R, Palsdottir A, Arnason A (1991b) Molecular hybridization of hybrids between the two largest whale species, the blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and the fin whale (B. physalus). Hereditas 115:183–189
Arnason U, Gullberg A, Johnsson E, Ledje C (1993) The nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA molecule of the grey seal,Halichoerus grypus, and a comparison with mitochondrial sequences of other true seals. J Mol Evol 37:323–330
Arnason U, Bodin K, Gullberg A, Ledje C, Mouchaty S (1995) A molecular view of pinniped relationships with particular emphasis on the true seals. J Mol Evol 40:78–85
Arnason U, Xu X, Gullberg A (1996a) Comparison between the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of Homo and the common chimpanzee based on non-chimaeric sequences. J Mol Evol 42: 145–152
Arnason U, Gullberg A, Janke A, Xu X (1996b) Pattern and timing of evolutionary divergences among hominoids based on analyses of complete mtDNAs. J Mol Evol (in press)
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, George MJ, Wilson AC (1979) Rapid evolution of animal mitochondrial DNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:1967–1971
Cao Y, Adachi J, Janke A, Pääbo S, Hasegawa M (1994) Phylogenetic relationships among eutherian orders estimated from inferred sequences of mitochondrial proteins: instability of tree based on a single gene. J Mol Evol 39:519–527
Gadaleta G, Pepe G, De Candia G, Quagliariello C, Sbisa E, Saccone C (1989) The complete nucleotide sequence of theRattus norvegicus mitochondria] genome: cryptic signals revealed by comparative analysis between vertebrates. J Mol Evol 28:497–516
George MJ, Ryder OA (1986) Mitochondrial DNA evolution in the genusEquus. Mol Biol Evol 3(6):535–546
Gribskov M, Burgess RR (1986) Sigma factors from E. coli, B. subtilis, phage SPO1, and phage T4 are homologous proteins. Nucleic Acids Res 14(16):6745–6763
Horai S, Hayasaka K, Kondo R, Tsugane K, Takahata N (1995) Recent African origin of modern humans revealed by complete sequences of hominoid mitochondrial DNAs. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92: 532–536
Irwin DM, Arnason U (1994) Cytochrome b gene of marine mammals: phylogeny and evolution. J Mamm Evol 2:37–55
Irwin DM, Kocher TD, Wilson AC (1991) Evolution of the cytochromeb gene of mammals. J Mol Evol 32:128–144
Janke A, Feldmaier-Fuchs G, Thomas WK, Haeseler A, Pääbo S (1994) The marsupial mitochondria] genome and the evolution of placental mammals. Genetics 137:243–256
Janke A, Gemmell NJ, Feldmaier-Fuchs G, Haesler A, Pääbo S (1996) The mitochondrial genome of a monotreme—the platypus (Ornitorhynchus anatinus). J Mol Evol 42:153–159
Krettek A, Gullberg A, Arnason U (1995) Sequence analysis of the complete mitochondrial DNA molecule of the hedgehog,Erinaceus europaeus, and the phylogenetic position of the Lipotyphla. J Mol Evol 41:952–957
Kumazawa Y, Nishida M (1993) Sequence evolution of mitochondrial tRNA genes and deep-branch animal phylogenetics. J Mol Evol 37:380–398
Lindsay EH, Opdyke ND, Johnson NM (1980) Pliocene dispersal of the horseEquus and late Cenozoic mammalian dispersal events. Nature 287:135–138
Ma DP, Zharkikh A, Graur D, VandeBerg JL, Li WH (1993) Structure and evolution of opossum, guinea pig and porcupine cytochromeb genes. J Mol Evol 36:327–334
Ohland DP, Harley EH, Best PB (1995) Systematics of cetaceans using restriction site mapping of mitochondrial DNA. Mol Phylogenet Evol 4:10–19
Ojala D, Montoya J, Attardi G (1981) tRNA punctuation model of RNA processing in human mitochondria. Nature 290:470–474
Ozawa T, Tanaka M, Sugiyama S, Ino H, Ohno K, Hattori K, Ohbayashi T, Ito T, Deguchi H, Kawamura K, Nakase Y, Hashiba K (1991) Patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy belong to the same mitochondrial DNA gene family of Parkinson's disease and mitochondrial encephalomyopathy. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 177: 518–525
Simpson GG (1951) Horses: the story of the horse family in the modern world and through sixty million years of history. Oxford University Press, New York
Spilliaert R, Vikingsson G, Arnason U, Palsdottir A, Sigurjonsson J, Arnason A (1991) Species hybridization between a female blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and a male fin whale (B. physalus): molecular and morphological documentation. J Hered 82:269–274
Wolstenholme DR (1992) Animal mitochondrial DNA: structure and evolution. Int Rev Cytol 141:173–216
Xu X, Arnason U (1994) The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the horse,Equus caballus: extensive heteroplasmy of the control region. Gene 148:357–362
Xu X, Arnason U (1996) A complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the western lowland gorilla. Mol Biol Evol 13:691–698
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Correspondence to: U. Arnason
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xu, X., Gullberg, A. & Arnason, U. The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the donkey and mtDNA comparisons among four closely related mammalian species-pairs. J Mol Evol 43, 438–446 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02337515
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02337515