Despite its economic and biological importance, the evolutionary and systematic affinities of many taxa in the suborder Ruminantia (order Artiodactyla) remain problematic. Recent molecular studies using mitochondrial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA) gene sequences strongly suggest that evolutionary relationships in Ruminantia can be addressed successfully with these extranuclear genomic data. The primary objectives of the project are therefore: (1) to isolate, clone, and sequence mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (rRNA and tRNA genes) from diverse representatives in the suborder; (2) to construct mtDNA phylogenies and to develop phylogenetic classifications from the extranuclear nucleotide information; and (3) to compare these results against other systematic data (e.g., those encoded in the nuclear genome) for patterns of congruence. As an extranuclear genomic system, the mtDNA sequences will offer unique insights into the phylogeny of ruminants, as well as into the molecular evolution (mutational mechanisms and structure/function relationships) of rRNA and tRNA genes.
