Mitogenomes of contemporary Spitsbergen stock bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus ).

Nyhus, Erik Sanderud; Lindqvist, Charlotte; Kovacs, Kit; Lydersen, Christian; Wiig, Øystein; Bachmann, Lutz

The Spitsbergen stock of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) is considered Critically Endangered by IUCN. Over recent decades, there have been only a few sightings, and very few biological samples are available for molecular analyses. Hence, genetic diversity of the extant Spitsbergen stock is unknown. Here, we present mitochondrial genomes from eight skin biopsy samples that were collected in 2006 and 2010. There were three different haplotypes, two of which have not previously been detected. Six samples shared the same haplotype, indicating that they were obtained from closely related whales, or possibly the same individual. Average nucleotide diversity wasπ = 0.0037, with a total of 93 variable positions among the haplotypes.

SPITSBERGEN Island (Norway); BOWHEAD whale; FISHES; MITOCHONDRIAL DNA; FISH phylogeny; SKIN biopsy; FISH diversity

Mitochondrial DNA: Resources, 2016, Vol 1, Issue 1, p898

2380-2359

Academic Journal

10.1080/23802359.2016.1258345