Tandemly repeated sequences in mtDNA control region of whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus

Length variation of the mitochondrial DNA control region was observed with PCR amplification of a sample of 138 whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus). Nucle otide sequences of representative PCR products showed that the variation wa s due to the presence of an approximately 100-bp motif tandemly repeated tw o, three, or five times in the region between the conserved sequence block- 3 (CSB-3) and the gene for phenylalanine tRNA. This is the first report on the tandem array composed of long repeat units in mitochondrial DNA of salm onids.