Abstract
The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome of a platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) was determined. Its overall genomic organization is similar to that of placental mammals,Xenopus laevis, and fishes. However, it contains an apparently noncoding sequence of 88 base pairs located between the genes for tRNALeu (UUR) and ND1. The base composition of this sequence and its conservation among monotremes, as well as the existence of a transcript from one of the strands, indicate that it may have a hithertounknown function. When the protein-coding sequences are used to reconstruct a phylogeny of mammals, the data suggest that monotremes and marsupials are sister groups and thus that placental mammals represent the most ancient divergence among mammals.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adachi J, Hasegawa M (1992) Computer science monographs, No. 27, MOLPHY: programs for molecular phylogenetics, I.—PROTML: maximum likelihood interference of protein phylogeny. Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo
Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, de Brujin MHL, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Eperon IC, Nierlich DP, Roe BA, Sanger F, Schreier PH, Smith AJH, Staden R, Young IG (1981) Sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome. Nature 290:457–465
Anderson S, de Brujin MHL, Coulson AR, Eperon IC, Sanger F, Young G (1982) Complete sequence of the bovine mitochondrial DNA. Conserved features of the mammalian mitochondrial genome. J Mol Biol 156:683–717
Arnason U, Gullberg A, Widegren B (1991) The complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the fin whale,Baleonoptera physalus. J Mol Evol 33:556–568
Arnason U, Johnsson E (1992) The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the harbor seal,Phoca vitulina. J Mol Evol 34:493–505
Bachman B, Lüke W, Hunsmann G (1990) Improvement of PCR amplified DNA sequencing with the aid of detergents. Nucleic Acids Res 18:1309
Bennet JL, Clayton DA (1990) Efficient site-specific cleavage by RNase MRP requires interaction with two evolutionary conserved mitochondrial RNA sequences. Mol Cell Biol 10:2191–2201
Bibb MJ, Van Etten RA, Wright CT, Walberg MW, Clayton DA (1981) Sequence and gene organization of the mouse mitochondrial DNA. Cell 26:167–180
Cabot EL, Beckenbach AT (1989) Simultaneous editing of multiple nucleic acid and protein sequences with ESEE. Comput Appl Biosci 5:233–234
Cantatore P, Gadaleta MN, Roberti M, Saccone C, Wilson AC (1987) Duplication and remoulding of tRNA genes during the evolutionary rearrangement of mitochondrial genomes. Nature 329:853–855
Cao Y, Adachi J, Janke A, Pääbo S, Hasegawa M (1994) Phylogenetic relationship among eutherian orders as inferred from complete sequences of mitochondrial DNA. J Mol Evol 39:519–527
Carroll RL (1988) Vertebrate paleontology and evolution. WH Freeman, New York
Chang Y-S, Huang FL, Lo TB (1994) The complete nucleotide sequence and gene organization of carp (Cyprinus carpio) mitochondrial genome. J Mol Evol 38:138–155
Chomczynski P, Sacchi N (1987) Single-step method of RNA isolation by acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction. Anal Biochem 162:156–159
Crompton AW, Jenkins FA (1979) Origin of mammals. In: Lillegraven JA, Kielan-Jaworowska Z, Clemens WA (eds) Mesozoic mammals. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 59–73
Desjardins P, Morais R (1990) Sequence and gene organization of the chicken mitochondrial gene. A novel gene order in higher vertebrates. J Mol Biol 212:599–634
Dillon MC, Wright JM (1993) Nucleotide-sequence of the D-loop region of the sperm whale (Physter macrocephalus) mitochondrial genome. Mol Biol Evol 10:296–305
Felsenstein J (1989) Phylogenetic inference programs (PHYLIP). University of Washington, Seattle University Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley
Foran DR, Hixson JE, Brown WM (1988) Comparisons of ape and human sequences that regulate mitochondrial DNA transcription and D-loop synthesis. Nucleic Acids Res 16:5841–5861
Gadaleta G, Pepe G, De Candia G, Quagliariello C, Sibisa E, Saccone C (1989) The complete nucleotide sequence of theRattus norvegicus mitochondrial genome: cryptic signals revealed by comparative analysis between vertebrates. J Mol Evol 28:497–516
Gemmell NJ, Janke A, Western PS, Watson JM, Pääbo S, Marshall Graves JA (1994) Cloning and characterisation of the platypus mitochondrial genome. J Mol Evol 39:200–205
Gemmell NJ, Westerman M (1994) Phylogenetic relationships within the class Mammalia—a study using mitochondrial 12S RNA sequences. J Mamm Evol 2:3–23
Goodman M, Czelusniak J, Beeber JE (1985) Phylogeny of primates and other eutherian orders: a cladistic analysis using amino acid and nucleotide sequence data. Cladistics 1(2):171–185
Gregory WK (1947) The monotremes and the palimpsest theory. Am Mus Nat Hist Bull 88:1–52
Hasegawa M, Kishino H, Yano T (1985) Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA. J Mol Evol 22:160–174
Hope R, Cooper S, Wainwright B (1990) Globin macromolecular sequences in marsupials and monotremes. In: Graves JAM, Hope RM, Cooper DW (eds) Mammals from pouches and eggs: genetics, breeding and evolution of Marsupials and Monotremes. CSIRO Editorial Services Unit, Melbourne
Janke A, Feldmaier-Fuchs G, Thomas WK, von Haeseler A, Pääbo S (1994) The marsupial mitochondrial genome and the evolution of placental mammals. Genetics 137:243–256
Janke A, Pääbo S (1993) Editing of a tRNA anticodon in marsupial mitochondria changes its codon recognition. Nucleic Acids Res 21:1523–1525
Jones DT, Taylor WR, Thornton JM (1992) The rapid generation of mutation data matrices from protein sequences. Comput Appl Biosci 8:275–282
Jukes TH, Cantor CR (1969) Evolution of protein molecules. In: Nunro HN (ed) Mammalian protein metabolism. Academic Press, New York, pp 21–123
Kermack DM, Kermack KA (1984) The evolution of mammalian characters. Croom Helm Press, London
Kielan-Jaworowska Z, Bown TM, Lillegraven JA (1979) Eutheria. In: Lillegraven JA, Kielan-Jaworowska Z, Clemens WA (eds) Mesozoic mammals, the first two-thirds of mammalian history. University of California Press, Berkeley, pp 221–259
Kimura M (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. J Mol Evol 16:111–120
King MP, Attardi G (1993) Post-transcriptional regulation of the steady-state levels of mitochondrial tRNAs in HeLa cells. J Biol Chem 268:10228–10237
Kirsch JAW, Calaby JH (1977) The species of living marsupials: an annotated list. In: Stonehouse B, Gilmore D (eds) The biology of marsupials. Macmillan, London
Kishino H, Hasegawa M (1989) Evaluation of the maximum likelihood estimate of the evolutionary tree topologies from DNA sequence data, and the branching order in Hominoidea. J Mol Evol 29:170–179
Kishino H, Miyata T, Hasegawa M (1990) Maximum likelihood inference of protein phylogeny and the origin of chloroplasts. J Mol Evol 31:151–160
Kühne WG (1973) The systematic position of monotremes reconsidered (Mammalia). Z Morphol Tiere 75:59–64
Kühne WG (1975) Marsupium and marsupial bone in mesozoic mammals and in the marsupionta. Coll Int C.N.R.S. 218:585–590
Marshall L (1979) Evolution of metatherian and eutherian (mammalian) characters: a review based on cladistic methodology. Zool J Linn Soc (London) 66:369–410
Pääbo S, Thomas WK, Whitfield KM, Kumazawa Y, Wilson AC (1991) Rearrangements of mitochondrial transfer RNA genes in marsupials. J Mol Evol 33:426–430
Retief JD, Winkfein RJ, Dixon GH (1993) Evolution of monotremes. The sequences of the protamine P1 genes of platypus and echidna. Eur J Biochem 218:457–461
Roe BA, Ma D-P, Wilson RK, Wong JF-H (1985) The complete nucleotide sequence of theXenopus laevis mitochondrial genome. J Biol Chem 260:9759–9774
Saccone C, Pesole G, Sbisa E (1991) The main regulatory region of mammalian mitochondrial DNA: structure-function model and evolutionary pattern. J Mol Evol 33:83–91
Sambrook J, Fitsch EF, Maniatis T (1989) Molecular cloning, a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Southern SO, Soutern PJ, Dizon AE (1988) Molecular characterization of a cloned dolphin mitochondrial genome. J Mol Evol 28:32–42
Tzeng C-S, Hui C-F, Shen S-C, Huang PC (1992) The complete nucleotide sequence of the Crossostoma lacustre mitochondrial genome: conservation and variation among vertebrates. Nucleic Acids Res 20:4853–4858
von Haeseler A, Janke A, Pääbo S (1993) Molecular phylogenetics. Verh Dtsch Zool Ges 86:119–129
Walberg MW, DA Clayton (1981) Sequence and properties of the human KB cell and mouse D-loop regions of mitochondrial DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 9:5411–5421
Yokogawa T, Watanabe Y-I, Kumazawa Y, Ueda T, Hirao I, Miura K-I, Watanabe K (1991) A novel cloverleaf structure found in mammalian mitochondrial tRNASer(UCN). Nucleic Acids Res 19:6101–6105
Zeller U (1993) Ontogenetic evidence for cranial homologies in monotremes and therians, with special reference to Ornithorhynchus. In: Szalay FS, Novacek MJ, McKenna MC (eds) Mammal Phylogeny. Springer Verlag, New-York, pp 95–107
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Janke, A., Gemmell, N.J., Feldmaier-Fuchs, G. et al. The mitochondrial genome of a monotreme—the platypus (Ornithrohynchus anatinus). J Mol Evol 42, 153–159 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02198841
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02198841