GENETIC RELATIONSHIPS DEDUCED FROM CYTOCHROME-b SEQUENCES AMONG MOOSE

Abstract

We studied variation in nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene to assess the phylogeny of moose (Alces alces) in general, and the position of North American moose within that phylogeny in particular. We combined North American, Asian, and European haplotypes generated for this study with 3 Eurasian haplotypes obtained from GenBank. No nucleotide variation occurred within moose from North America, whereas 3 haplotypes were present in European moose and 4 haplotypes in Asian moose. Clade structure was consistent over 6 most-parsimonious trees, with Asian haplotypes composing 1 clade, and North American and European haplotypes composing a second, albeit poorly supported clade. Low diversity of nucleotides in cytochrome-b indicated a recent ancestry among moose worldwide. Existence of 1 North American haplotype is strong evidence of a single, recent entry into the New World via the Bering land bridge, rather than multiple entries through >1 corridors. Furthermore, no phylogenetic support existed for the theory of distinct lineages of European versus Asian-North American moose.