MtDNA heteroplasmy gives rise to a new maternal lineage in North Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).

ABSTRACT: Heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial genome offers a rare opportunity to track the evolution of a newly arising maternal lineage in populations of non-model species. Here, we identified a previously unreported mitochondrial DNA haplotype while assembling an integrated database of DNA profiles and photo-identification records from humpback whales in southeastern Alaska (SEAK). The haplotype, referred to as A8, was shared by only 2 individuals, a mature female with her female calf, and differed by only a single base pair from a common haplotype in the North Pacific, referred to as A-. To investigate the origins of the A8 haplotype, we reviewed n = 1,089 electropherograms (including replicate samples) of n = 710 individuals with A- haplotypes from an existing collection. From this review, we fou

SUBMITTER: Pierszalowski SP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10019026 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature