| In order to augment existing domesticated dog mtDNA databases, a 608 bp sequence within the hypervariable region 1 (HV1) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was examined in 256 mixed breed dogs from the Western, Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States. Forty-six mixed breed haplotypes were discovered including the 16 haplotypes Himmelberger et al. (12) previously reported.;When the laboratory-generated mtDNA dataset was combined with 393 published geographically representative mixed and pure breed dog HV1 sequences, results from the AMOVA show that 91% of the canine variation is found within the regional dog populations. With increased regionally representative samples, geographic substructure among regional populations attained statistical significance when conducting the modified Fisher's exact test. National and regional Network phylograms based on the canine HV1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) illustrate the uniqueness of regional haplotype distributions and frequencies, further demonstrating the value of regional and mixed breed canine mtDNA databases.;Keywords. forensic science, domestic dog, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), hypervariable region 1 (HV1), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), haplotype, regional database. |
