SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLETE MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA MOLECULE OF THE HEDGEHOG, ERINACEUS-EUROPAEUS, AND THE PHYLOGENETIC POSITION OF THE LIPOTYPHLA

The sequence of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) molecule of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) was determined. The length of the sequ ence presented is 17,442 nucleotides (nt). The molecule is thus the la rgest eutherian mtDNA molecule so far reported. The organization of th e molecule conforms with that of other eutherians, but the control reg ion of the molecule is exceptionally long, 1,988 nt, due to the presen ce of repeated motifs at two different positions in the 3' part of the control region, The length of the control region is not absolute due to pronounced heteroplasmy caused by variable numbers of the motif TAC GCA in one of the repetitive regions. The sequence presented includes 46 repeats of this type, The other repeated region is composed of diff erent AT-rich repeats. This region was identical among four clones stu died. Comparison of mitochondrial peptide-coding genes identified a se parate position of the hedgehog among several mammalian orders, The co ncatenated protein sequence of the 13 peptide-coding genes was used in a phylogenetic study using the opossum as outgroup. The position of t he hedgehog sequence was basal among the other eutherian sequences inc luded: human, rat, mouse, cow, blue whale, harbor seal, and horse. The analysis did not resolve the relationship among carnivores, perissoda ctyls, and artiodactyls/cetaceans, suggesting a closer relationship am ong these orders than acknowledged by classical approaches.