[Mitochondrial cytochrome b gene variation in brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758) from southern part of Russian Far East].

The genetic variability of brown bear Ursus arctos from the southern part of the Russian Far East was first ex- amined based on the variations in the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequence. The presence of two phylogenetic groups of haplotypes described previously for other parts of the species range was demonstrated. Part of the samples belonged to the haplotype group distributed across the whole range, while another part belonged to the rare group previously only reported for Japan and Alaska. These findings partially clarify the pattern of brown-bear colonization on the territory of the Russian Far East and Japan.