Evolution of mtDNA D-loop sequences and their use in phylogenetic studies of shrews in the subgenus Otisorex (Sorex: Soricidae: Insectivora).

mtDNA D-loop sequences were examined in shrews of the genus Sorex. All specimens possessed an array of tandem repeats in which each repeat was 78 to 80 base pairs (bp) in length. Each specimen also possessed a 76-bp imperfect copy of the tandem repeats. Three observations are consistent with the tandem repeats being the product of concerted evolution: (1) the repeats are capable of forming secondary structures; (2) there was minimal sequence divergence between tandem repeats within individuals; and (3) although the tandem repeats and the imperfect repeat presumably arose due to a duplication event in an ancestor of the shrews, the imperfect repeat per se was not copied in any of the specimens observed. Interspecific homology can therefore be assumed for the imperfect repeat. Furthermore, given the apparent high rate of concerted evolution within a genome, tandem repeats in different individuals may be compared as though only a single copy were present. By including data from the imperfect repeat, the last tandem repeat, and the surrounding unique sequence cladistic and genetic distance approaches to phylogeny reconstruction indicated two sister groups within the subgenus Otisorex. One group was composed of Sorex fumeus and the S. cinereus species complex and the other group was composed of S. hoyi, S. monticolus, S. vagrans, and S. palustris. Resolution of relationships among recently evolved taxa demonstrated the usefulness of selected regions of the D-loop for molecular systematic studies.