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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Methodology for Accurate Detection of Mitochondrial DNA Methylation
Published on: May 20, 2018
Gender-associated diverse mitochondrial DNA molecules of the mussel Mytilus californianus
C T Beagley1, K A Taylor, D R Wolstenholme
1Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Abstract:
The Pacific-rim, dioecious bivalve Mytilus californianus contains two distinct sequence types of mitochondrial (mt) DNA that are gender-limited in their occurrence. One type (F) is found in both females and males, but the second type (M) is strictly limited to males. Although F- and M-type mtDNAs occur in approximately equal proportion in testes, there is a preponderance of M-type in sperm. Segments of the COI and ND5 genes of F-type and M-type mtDNAs differ in nucleotide sequence by 21.1% and 31.6%, and in predicted amino-acid sequence by 7.9% and 27.1%, respectively. These latter observations raise hitherto unconsidered questions regarding the number of different variants of cytochrome c oxidase and NADH dehydrogenase that may occur in Mytilus non-gametic male cells.
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