Phylogenetic positions of insectivora in eutheria inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit II gene.

For the elucidation of the phylogenetic position of insectivora in eutheria, we have sequenced the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) gene of mitochondria for three insectivoran species [musk screw (Suncus murinus), shrew mole (Urotrichus talpoides), Japanese mole (Mogera wogura)] and analyzed these amino acid sequences with neighbor-joining (NJ) method and maximum likelihood (ML) method. NJ analysis shows polyphyly of Insectivora and Chiroptera. Assuming that each of Primates, Ferungulata, Chiroptera, Insectivora and Rodentia is a monophyletic group, ML analysis suggests that Chiroptera is a sister group of Insectivora and that Ferungulata is the closest outgroup to the (Insectivora and Chiroptera) clade.