DNA RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPH ISM IN EUROPEAN AND ASIATICWOOD MICE SPECIES OF THE GENUS APODEMUS

Comparative restriction analysis of genomic DNA from six wood mice spe cies of the genus Apodemus as well as from the house mouse Mus musculu s and a Norway rat Rattus norvegicus was conducted by means of AluI, T agI, Csp6I, and BglII endonucleases. The data from RFLP and UPG analys es allowed division of ail the forms studied into two groups, evolutio narily young and old, including European (sylvaticus, flavicollis, and microps) and Asiatic (peninsulae, speciosis, and agrarius, together w ith the striped field mouse) wood mice species, respectively. The firs t group is characterized by low interspecies and intragenomic RFLPs of the repeated DNA sequences, while these indices were higher in the se cond group. The interspecies genetic distances averaged around 1.2% wi thin the first group, around 5.88% within the second group, and around 9.49% between the groups. The divergence of A. agrarius from the Asia tic species of wood mice was 5.33%, twofold lower than divergence from the European species (9.17%).