title: Highly conserved d-loop sequences in woolly mouse opossums Marmosa (Micoureus).
abstract: This study reports the occurrence of highly conserved d-loop sequences in the mitochondrial genome of the woolly mouse opossum genus Marmosa subgenus Micoureus (Mammalia, Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae). Sixty-six sequences of Marmosa (Micoureus) demerarae, Marmosa (Micoureus) constantiae, and Marmosa (Micoureus) paraguayanus were amplified using universal d-loop primers and virtually no genetic differences were detected within and among species. These sequences matched the control region of the mitochondrial marsupial genome. Analyses of qualitative aspects of these sequences revealed that their structural composition is very similar to the d-loop region of other didelphid species. However, the total lack of variability has not been reported from other closely related species. The data analyzed here support the occurrence of highly conserved d-loop sequences, and we found no support for the hypothesis that these sequences are d-loop-like nuclear pseudogenes. Furthermore, the control and flanking regions obtained with different primers corroborate the lack of variability of the d-loop sequences in the mitochondrial genome of Marmosa (Micoureus).
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. rgrocha@ua.pt
authors.forename: Rita Gomes
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Yuri Luiz Reis
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Justino
authors.forename: Leonora Pires
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009893:Opossums / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D011544:Pseudogenes; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial