title: Frequent mitochondrial gene rearrangements at the hymenopteran nad3-nad5 junction.
abstract: We characterized the organization of mitochondrial genes from a diverse range of hymenopterans. Of the 21 taxa characterized, 12 had distinct, derived organizations. Some rearrangements were consistent with the duplication-random loss mechanism, while others were not. Local inversions were relatively common, i.e., rearrangements characterized by the movement of genes from one mitochondrial strand to the other, opposite or close to their ancestral position. This type of rearrangement is inconsistent with the duplication/random loss model of mitochondrial gene rearrangement. Instead, they are best explained by the operation of recombination. Taxa with derived organizations were restricted to a single, monophyletic group of wasps, the Apocrita, which comprise about 90% of all hymenopterans.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Conservation Biology, Department of Biology, Wollongong University, NSW, 2522, Australia. mdowton@uow.edu.au
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dowton
authors.forename: Lyda R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Sharmilla D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bargon
authors.forename: Andrew D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Austin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D007446:Chromosome Inversion; D032621:DNA Shuffling; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D017344:Genes, Insect; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000235:genetics*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins