Numerous insertions of mitochondrial DNA in the genome of the northern mole vole, Ellobius talpinus

Ellobius talpinus is a subterranean rodent representing an attractive model in population ecology studies due to its highly special lifestyle and sociality. In such studies, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is widely used. However, if nuclear copies of mtDNA, aka NUMTs, are present, they may co-amplify with the target mtDNA fragment, generating misleading results. The aim of this study was to determine whether NUMTs are present in E. talpinus. PCR amplification of the putative mtDNA CytB-D-loop fragment using ‘universal’ primers from 56 E. talpinus samples produced multiple double peaks in 90