Specific cleavage analysis of mammalian mitochondrial DNA.

Mitochondrial DNA from several mammalian species has been digested with a site-specific restriction endonuclease (HaeIII) from Haemophilus aegyptius. A quantitative analysis of the resulting specific fragments indicates that the mtDNA of any individual mammal is predominantly a single molecular clone. Gel analysis of specific cleavage products has proven quite sensitive in detecting differences in mtDNA: mtDNAs from the more distantly related mammals studied (e.g., donkey and dog) are found to have few bands in common and very closely related mammals (e.g., donkey and horse) share only about 50% of their bands. This procedure has detected several intraspecies mtDNA differences. Six distinct human patterns have been found, with one pattern usually differing from another in two or three bands. mtDNAs from different organs of single individuals have also been analyzed, and no differences have been found.