Tebbutt & Simons—New Zealand huia genes

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstracts

Gene sequences from New Zealand’s extinct huia

Scott J. Tebbutt*
Cas Simons

Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. Email: tebbutts@sanger.otago.ac.nz
*Present address: Centre for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3N5 Canada.

Abstract We report the characterisation of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences from bone tissue of a New Zealand-endemic extinct avian vertebrate. We present evidence that we have successfully obtained huia-specific DNA sequences from the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene and the nuclear cMos proto-oncogene. These gene sequences have allowed us to carry out the first phylogenetic studies of this extinct species which confirm that the huia is a member of the Passeriformes lineage of birds.

Keywords ancient DNA; extinct fauna; birds; Passeriformes

R01015 Received 30 July 2001; accepted 20 December 2001
© Journal of The Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 32, Number 2, June 2002, pp 327–335

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Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstracts

Gene sequences from New Zealand’s extinct huia

Scott J. Tebbutt* Cas Simons

Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. Email: tebbutts@sanger.otago.ac.nz *Present address: Centre for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3N5 Canada.

Scott J. Tebbutt*
Cas Simons

Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand. Email: tebbutts@sanger.otago.ac.nz
*Present address: Centre for Biomedical Research, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3020 STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., V8W 3N5 Canada.