GEOGRAPHIC POPULATION-STRUCTURE AND SEQUENCE DIVERGENCE IN THE MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA CONTROL REGION OF THE JAPANESE WILD BOAR (SUS SCROFA LEUCOMYSTAX), WITH REFERENCE TO THOSE OF DOMESTIC PIGS

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control regions from 40 Japanese wild boars were examined by direct sequencing after amplification by PCR. From th e DNA sequences obtained, we found eight haplotypes, whose differences arose via transitions. The geographical distribution of these differe nt haplotypes indicated that wild boar populations inhabited limited a reas and that there was some restricted gene flow between local popula tions. Eight mtDNA haplotypes from Eastern and Western domestic pigs a nd the Ryukyu wild boar were also analyzed as references to those from Japanese wild boars. The cluster analyses of the control-region seque nces showed that those from Japanese wild boars belong to the Asian ty pe as do those from Eastern domestic pigs and the Ryukyu wild boar, wh ich differed from the European type (Western domestic pigs).