[The use of c-mos nuclear gene as a phylogenetic marker in tetraonidae birds]. / Ispol'zovanie c-mos-gena iadernogo genoma v kachestve filogeneticheskogo markera u tetereviykh ptits.

A 480-bp fragment of nuclear c-mos gene was sequenced in nine bird species representing four genera of the family Tetraonidae. It was demonstrated that nuclear genome region examined was highly conservative. The data were used to construct phylogenetic relationships among the c-mos gene sequences in Tetraonidae. The data obtained point to a paraphyletic origin of hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus).

[Divergence of the cytochrome b gene in grouse species]. / Divergentsiia gena tsitokhroma b u teterevinykh ptits.

A 720-bp cytochrome b gene fragment of the mitochondrial genome was sequenced in ten species and seven potential subspecies of grouse. Of 187 variable sites detected, 140 were parsimony informative. The distribution of nucleotides in three positions of codons had a similar pattern with and did not fundamentally differ from that of the nucleotide composition of this gene in other animals, including birds. The nucleotides found at the first codon position were shown to be uniformly distributed, whereas the third position was characterized by a significant decrease in the amount of guanine and, to a lesser extent, thymine. Based on the data on the nucleotide sequences of the cytochrome b gene fragment, a phylogenetic tree was constructed. This tree fits well the morphological and ecological differentiation of the species studied.

Evolution of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene in Tetraonidae birds. / Evoliutsiia gena tsitokhroma b mitokhondrial'noi DNK u teterevinykh ptits.

Mitochondrial fragments containing the cytochrome b gene (1020 bp in size) of four bird species belonging to four genera of the family Tetraonidae (Tetrao parvirostris, Bonasa umbellus, Lagopus lagopus scoticus, and Falcipennis falcipennis) were directly sequenced. Of the 1020 nucleotide positions, 186 were variable and uniformly distributed over the gene and only 46 were parsimony informative. Most substitutions were synonymous. Replacement substitutions were detected for 15 out of 340 amino acid sites; only four replacements were parsimony informative. The greatest codon bias was found for leucine and serine. The C-T transitions and the G-C transversions were, respectively, the most common (60.7%) and the most rare (5.9%). The mutation frequencies were high at the third codon position (85.2%) and relatively low at the first and the second position. At the third codon position of the species examined, the guanine content was the lowest (3.3%) and the cytosine content was the highest (44.5%). Based on the cytochrome b gene sequences, phylogenetic relationships in the order Galliformes are inferred.

[Mitochondrial DNA RFLP in inhabitants of Magadan]. / PDRF mitokhondrial'noi DNK u zhitelei g. Magadana.

Analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from placenta tissue of Slavs living in Northern-East Asia is presented. BamHI, HpaI, EcoRV, and PvuII restriction endonucleases are used for this analysis (N = 40-50 for some restriction endonucleases). Combination of mtDNA types characteristic for distinct Mongoloid and Europeoid populations was found in a sample. HpaI-1 morph (Mongoloid marker) frequency is equal to 1.9% and BamHI-3 morph (Europeoid marker) frequency is equal to 2.5%. The sample investigated is monomorphic by PvuII endonuclease cleavage patterns. EcoRV-2 morph frequency exceeds 10%. Peculiarities of mtDNA restriction type structure in Magadan Region population are discussed in connection with a character of forming of Siberia and Far East population.