Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
Published on: August 14, 2018
Temporal, spatial, and ecological modes of evolution of Eurasian Mus based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene
Hitoshi Suzuki1, Tomofumi Shimada, Mie Terashima
1Laboratory of Ecology and Genetics, Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan. htsuzuki@ees.hokudai.ac.jp
Abstract:
We sequenced mitochondrial (cytochrome b, 12S rRNA) and nuclear (IRBP, RAG1) genes for 17 species of the Old World murine genus Mus, drawn primarily from the Eurasian subgenus Mus. Phylogenetic analysis of the newly and previously available sequences support recognition of four subgenera within Mus (Mus, Coelomys, Nannomys, and Pyromys), with an unresolved basal polytomy. Our data further indicate that the subgenus Mus contains three distinct 'species groups': (1) a Mus booduga Species Group, also including Mus terricolor and Mus fragilicauda (probably also Mus famulus); (2) a Mus cervicolor Species Group, also including Mus caroli and Mus cookii; and (3) a Mus musculus Species Group, also including Mus macedonicus, Mus spicilegus, and Mus spretus. Species diversity in Eurasian Mus is probably explicable in terms of several phases of range expansion and vicariance, and by a propensity within the group to undergo biotope transitions. IRBP and RAG1 molecular clocks for Mus date the origin of subgenera to around 5-6 mya and the origin of Species Groups within subgenus Mus to around 2-3 mya. The temporal pattern of evolution among Eurasian Mus is more complex than that within the Eurasian temperate genus Apodemus.
Related Concept Videos
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Synteny and Evolution
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral chromosome underwent...
Genetics of Speciation
Convergent Evolution

