High Diversity of mtDNA Haplotypes Confirms Syntopic Occurrence of Two Field Mouse Species Apodemus uralensis and A. witherbyi (Muridae: Apodemus) in Armenia

Abstract

Wood mice of the genus Apodemus belong to the most frequent and epidemiologically important rodents of Europe and adjacent regions. Previous studies showed that in the Middle East region species of this genus exhibit extraordinary morphological similarity precluding their proper determination without application of molecular characters. In order to determine the species of the studied populations and to obtain an insight into their phylogeographic history, we analyzed their genetic variation. We sequenced 1139 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region and flanking tRNA genes in samples collected from six localities. Phylogenetic analyses revealed presence of distinct clades corresponding to species A. uralensis and A. witherbyi. In most localities we confirmed presence of both species which suggests their large sympatric and syntopic occurrence. We recognized an extensive genetic variability, 38 specimens of A. uralensis belong to 32 distinct haplotypes, while 19 specimens of A. witherbyi to 14 haplotypes. We confirmed presence of several distinct haplotypes that may originate from multiple wood mouse colonization waves from distinct geographic regions.