6533b829fe1ef96bd128b027
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Characterization of the length polymorphism in the A + T-rich region of the Drosophila obscura group species
Eladio BarrioAntonio J. MonforteAmparo Latorresubject
Mitochondrial DNAMolecular Sequence DataRestriction MappingDNA RecombinantDNA MitochondrialConserved sequenceSpecies SpecificityMolecular evolutionDrosophilidaeSequence Homology Nucleic AcidGene duplicationGeneticsAnimalsMolecular BiologyEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsGeneticsPolymorphism GeneticbiologyBase SequenceAdenineNucleic acid sequencebiology.organism_classificationNucleic Acid ConformationDrosophilaTandem exon duplicationDrosophila obscuraSequence AlignmentPlasmidsThymidinedescription
In the twelve Drosophila obscura group species studied, belonging to the affinis, obscura, and pseudoobscura subgroups, the mitochondrial DNA length ranges from 15.8 to 17.2 kb. This length polymorphism is mainly due to insertions/deletions in the variable region of the A + T-rich region. In addition, one species (D. tristis) possess a tandem duplication of a 470-bp fragment that contains the replication origin. The same duplication has occurred at least twice in the Drosophila evolutionary history due to the fact that the repetition is analogous to repetitions found in the four species of the D. melanogaster complex. By comparing the nucleotide sequence of the conserved region in D. ambigua, D. obscura, D. yakuba, D. teissieri, and D. virilis, we show the presence of a secondary structure, likely implied in the replication origin, which could favor the generation of this kind of duplications. Finally, we propose that the high A and T content in the variable region of the A + T-rich region favors the formation of less-stable secondary structures, which could explain the generation of minor insertion/deletions found in this region.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-03-01 |