Restriction Enzyme Map of mtDNA From Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Mitochondrial DNA from giant panda has been digested with nine enzymes:BamHⅠ,BglⅠ,BglⅡ,EcoRⅠ,EcoRⅤ,PstⅠ,PvuⅡ,SalⅠ and XhoⅠ,and the molecular weights of the fragments have been determinde.BamHⅠ,EcoRⅠ,EcoRⅤ and XhoⅠ cleave giant panda mtDNA at three pointes yielding three fragments,respectively.Digestion with PstⅠ and PvuⅡ produces two fragments,rerpectiuely.Cleavage with BglⅠ,BglⅡ and SalⅠ generates one fragment,respectively.Based on analysis of a set of fragments generated by single and double-digestions with these restriction endonucleases,BamHⅠ,PstⅠ,EcoRⅤ and PvuⅡ cleavage sites were located on the map with EcoRⅠ sites as reference points.The molecular size of mtDNA from giant panda is about 16.4 Kb.The distribution of cleavage sites on mtDNA is not random.Our preliminary results may be useful for the evolutionary study of mtDNA from giant panda.