Cytochrome b pseudogene originated from a highly divergent mitochondrial lineage in genus Rupicapra.
We have identified a nuclear pseudogene (numt) of cytochrome b (cytb) in chamois. The comparison of a fragment of 402 nucleotides of cytb and the pseudogene between the 2 species Rupicapra rupicapra and Rupicapra pyrenaica allowed direct measurement of relative rates and patterns of evolution. Mitochondrial genes evolved 7 to 12 times faster than their nuclear counterparts. Substitutions in the nucleus include a frameshift and a stop codon. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial lineages on Rupicapra and related species showed that the nuclear branch evolved as a functional mitochondrial gene until the split of the 2 species of chamois and as a typical pseudogene later on. We propose that the pseudogene originated from a highly divergent mitochondrial lineage that did not persist in the mitochondrion and transposed to the nucleus in a time close to speciation. The concurrence of highly differentiated lineages at speciation points to hybridization between highly divergent populations.
Rodríguez
Fernando
F
the Departamento de Biología Funcional, Area de Genética, Universidad de Oviedo, 33071 Oviedo, Spain.
Albornoz
Jesús
J
Domínguez
Ana
A
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011544:Pseudogenes; D048608:Rupicapra / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D045303:Cytochromes b