Nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial DNA control region was determined for the formalin-preserved specimen of the individual European vendace, Coregonus albula, belonging to an extinct population. The specimen has been preserved and stored in formalin for 39 years. A comparison with two previously determined sequences obtained for specimens from other populations of vendace revealed both nucleotide substitutions and site heteroplasmy. The ability to sequence DNA from formalin-preserved museum specimens of rare or extinct taxa provides another sampling strategy for phylogenetic studies on fish.
P. Brzuzan, Department of Evolutionary Ecology, WM University in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-718 Olsztyn-Kortowo, Poland, e-mail: brzuzan@moskit.art.olsztyn.pl