HIGHLY CONSERVED NUCLEAR COPIES OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL CONTROL REGION IN THE DESERT LOCUST SCHISTOCERCA-GREGARIA - SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR POPULATION STUDIES

Animal mitochondrial DNA has proved a valuable marker in intraspecific systematic studies. However, if nucleotide sequence heterogeneity exi sts at the individual level, its usefulness will be much reduced. This study demonstrates that the presence of highly conserved non-coding m itochondrial sequences in the nuclear genome of Schistocerca gregaria greatly impairs the use of mtDNA in population genetic studies. Cautio n is called for in other organisms; and it seems necessary to check fo r conserved nuclear copies of mitochondrial sequences before launching into a large scale analysis of populations using mtDNA as a genetic m arker. Experimental procedures are suggested for this purpose.