Here we investigated the consequences of PCR amplification errors in the identification of intraindividual mtDNA variation. The bumblebee
Bombus morio
was chosen as model for the
COI
gene amplification tests with two DNA polymerases (
Taq
and Q5) presenting different error rates. The amplifications using
Taq
resulted in a significant increase of singleton haplotypes per individual in comparison to Q5. The sequence characteristics indicated that
Taq
resulted haplotypes are mostly due to amplification errors. Studies focusing on intraindividual variability should address special attention to the DNA polymerase fidelity to avoid overestimation of heteroplasmic haplotypes.
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