Genetic Variability in the Mitochondrial Control Region of the Japanese Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus japonicus.

Abstract

Fallen Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) feathers from bird habitats were used to extract DNA and produced a clear PCR band after the second PCR with grousespecific primers. Comparison with chicken and quail revealed that the mitochondrial control regions of the Rock Ptarmigan and Hazel Grouse (Bonasa bonasia) can be divided into three domains:a more conserved segment of the central domain with the F, D, and C boxes and CSB-1, as well as more variable regions of the left and right domains. Only two haplotypes were found in the Japanese Rock Ptarmigan at the 441 bp of the left domain: haplotype LM1 in 21 samples from 4 localities in the Hida mountains and haplotype LM2 in 1 sample from the Akaishi mountains. The same region was analyzed using 36 individuals of Hazel Grouse from Hokkaido, which exhibited 21 substitutions defining 21 haplotypes, indicating that the Japanese Rock Ptarmigan area has very low genetic variability. Palynological study indicated Pinus pumila zone, where is main habitat of the Japans Rock Ptarmigan, would have been scaled down during the early hypsithermal interval. Such a natural environmental change might cause a bottleneck event to the Rock Ptarmigan population, resulting very low genetic variability.

Distribution and genetic structure of the Japanese wood pigeon (Columba janthina) endemic to the islands of East Asia

“…The sample size of SKS and STO was small (ten and six samples, respectively) since the density of this species was exceedingly low in these regions. Total DNA was extracted from the feather samples according to the method of Baba et al (2001). Tissue samples were obtained from six frozen specimens, and DNA was extracted using an extraction kit (QIAamp DNA Mini Kit, QIAGEN).…”

Influences of geographic differentiation in the forewing warning signal of the wood tiger moth in Alaska

“…Interestingly, an area thought to comprise a fourth population was shown to have some unique mitochondrial haplotypes. The unique area could be the product of climatic shifts during the Pleistocene or sex biased dispersal because females appear to have a harder time flying than males (see Baba et al 2001, Ikeda & Setoguchi 2006.…”

Evaluation of the Genetic Diversity of the Ryukyu Long-furred Rat (<i>Diplothrix legata</i>) on Northern Okinawa-jima Island, Japan

“…This result indicates that the population of Ryukyu long-furred rats has experienced a population bottleneck. The same phenomenon was observed in the Japanese rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus japonicas), an endangered alpine bird that experienced a bottleneck [15,16]. Although twin peaks can be observed when contact has occurred with other populations that have different haplotypes, such contact is unlikely for the Ryukyu long-furred rat because of the isolation of the island.…”