Genetic variation of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of Karoula borealis (Amphibia; Microhylidae)

The nucleotide sequences of 420 bp segment of cytochrome (cyt) b gene were analyzed using 14 specimens from Korea and 2 specimens from China. The level of mitochondrial DNA sequence differences ranged from 0% to 0.48% among seven popul- ations of Korean K. borealis. and 0.72% to 0.97% among Korean and Chinese K. borealis. In Korean K. borealis, the nucleotide substitution rates were ranged from 0% to 0.71% and all the nucleotide substitutions occurred by transition. Using Tamura-Nei distance, the level of sequence divergence ranged from 0.71% to 1.43% between Korean and Chinese K. borealis. According to the sequence divergence, the genetic variation among Korean and Chinise populations of K. borealis is very low. In the neighbor-joining tree, all the K. borealis samples were grouped in one.