[Molecular-genetic typing of three representatives of the transpalearctic species of forest and field mice (Apodemus, Muridae, Rodentia)].

The genomes of three species of wood mouse (Apodemus falzfeini and A. ponticus from the Caucasus and A. argenteus from Japan) were compared by means of restriction analysis of nuclear DNA. The species are differentiated from each other and from previously studies species. Each species has its species-specific features. Within the genus Apodemus, A. ponticus is most closely related to the European species A. sylvaticus and A. flavicollis. A. falzfeini has a peculiar type of restriction with EcoR I (specific for dispersed repeats) and Hind III (specific for satDNA). The genome of this species contains three families of EcoR I repeats previously found in various species (European and Asian) of wood mouse and Hind III components characteristic of both wood and field mice. A. argenteus differs from all other forms of Apodemus, the genome of which contains the 375-bp Hind III satellite, by the presence of a EcoR I satDNA fraction consisting of 240-bp repeating units.