Mitochondrial haplotype diversity in the tortoise species Testudo graeca from North Africa and the Middle East.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To help conservation programs of the endangered spur-thighed tortoise and to gain better insight into its systematics, genetic variation and evolution in the tortoise species Testudo graeca (Testudines: Testudinidae) was investigated by sequence analysis of a 394-nucleotide fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene for 158 tortoise specimens belonging to the subspecies Testudo graeca graeca, Testudo graeca ibera, Testudo graeca terrestris, and a newly recognized subspecies Testudo graeca whitei. A 411-nucleotide fragment of the mitochondrial D-loop was additionally sequenced for a subset of 22 T. graeca, chosen because of their 12S gene haplotype and/or geographical origin.

Results

Haplotype networks generated by maximum-likelihood and neighbor-joining analyses

SUBMITTER: van der Kuyl AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1097724 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature