MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME OF THYMUS-VULGARIS L (LABIATE) IS HIGHLY POLYMORPHIC BETWEEN AND AMONG NATURAL-POPULATIONS

Analysis of mitochondrial DNA polymorphism in natural populations of Thymus vulgaris revealed the existence of high variability between and among populations. Using southern hybridization with two restriction enzymes analysis and one heterologous probe, 13 mitotypes were detected among three natural populations. All the mitotypes except two were specific to a single population. This high polymorphism was also detected with three other heterologous probes. To analyse this variability further, we studied restriction patterns of purified mtDNA from single individuals sampled from each of three natural populations. The three individuals showed completely different EcoRI mtDNA restriction fragment patterns, while EcoRI cpDNA restriction fragment patterns were identical for the three individuals. To test the possibility of paternal mtDNA as a potential source of the polymorphism observed, the mode of inheritance of mtDNA was studied and found to be maternal.