Publication Date:
2006-04-29
Description:
Within-species genetic diversity is thought to reflect population size, history, ecology, and ability to adapt. Using a comprehensive collection of polymorphism data sets covering approximately 3000 animal species, we show that the widely used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) marker does not reflect species abundance or ecology: mtDNA diversity is not higher in invertebrates than in vertebrates, in marine than in terrestrial species, or in small than in large organisms. Nuclear loci, in contrast, fit these intuitive expectations. The unexpected mitochondrial diversity distribution is explained by recurrent adaptive evolution, challenging the neutral theory of molecular evolution and questioning the relevance of mtDNA in biodiversity and conservation studies.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bazin, Eric -- Glemin, Sylvain -- Galtier, Nicolas -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2006 Apr 28;312(5773):570-2.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉CNRS UMR 5171-Genome, Populations, Interactions, Adaptation-Universite Montpellier 2 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16645093" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Adaptation, Biological
;
Animals
;
*Biological Evolution
;
Body Size
;
DNA/genetics
;
DNA, Mitochondrial/*genetics
;
Ecosystem
;
Evolution, Molecular
;
*Genes, Mitochondrial
;
Genetic Markers
;
*Genetic Variation
;
Genetics, Population
;
Invertebrates/*genetics
;
Isoenzymes/genetics
;
Mutation
;
*Polymorphism, Genetic
;
Population Density
;
Recombination, Genetic
;
Selection, Genetic
;
Vertebrates/*genetics
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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