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Published on: July 3, 2016
Mitochondrial genomes of ancient bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) from Svalbard
Joost Grond1, Magdalena Płecha2, Christoph Hahn1,3
1Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
The endangered Spitsbergen stock of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) has once been large with up to estimated 100,000 individuals. Genetic diversity of the extant Spitsbergen stock is unknown. We present 10 complete mitochondrial genomes of heterochronous ancient bowhead whale samples from Svalbard (14C age estimate range: 215-8885 years) obtained via NGS of total genomic DNA extracts. The ten mitogenomes differed by nucleotide substitutions and/or indels, and there was a total of 160 variable positions. The average nucleotide diversity was π = 0.0029. There was no statistically significant correlation between genetic divergence and time.
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