Mitochondrial genome variability in the wolverine (Gulo gulo)

The nucleotide sequence of an extended mitochondrial genome segment (11473 base pairs in size) was determined in the wolverine (Gulo gulo) from Magadan oblast. Phylogenetic and statistical analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of mustelids showed that the separation of the Gulo phylogenetic branch occurred at the Miocene-early Pliocene (about 5.6 million years ago (MYA)), while the formation of the species G. gulo took place in the Middle Pleistocene (181 and 234 thousand years ago (KYA), according to the results of molecular dating based on the variability of the extended mtDNA segment and the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, respectively). The molecular data were in agreement with the fossil records for wolverines.