Molecular phylogeny of the Iranian Plateau five-toed jerboa, Allactaga (Dipodidea: Rodentia), inferred from mtDNA

Abstract

The five-toed jerboas of the genus Allactaga<br><br>inhabit arid areas of Asia and North Africa and are widely<br><br>distributed in deserts, semideserts, and steppe regions<br><br>of Iran. Many morphological and morphometric studies<br><br>have been carried out on this genus; however, there is<br><br>little molecular data available on them. Therefore, their<br><br>phylogenetic relationships need to be evaluated. Here,<br><br>using sequences of 903 and 632 bp of two mitochondrial<br><br>DNA genes, cytochrome b ( Cytb ) and cytochrome oxidase<br><br>subunit I ( Cox1 ), the phylogenetic relationships of five<br><br>nominal species of Allactaga were evaluated from the<br><br>Iranian Plateau. Phylogenetic trees were constructed on<br><br>the basis of maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood,<br><br>and Bayesian analyses. The resulting trees supported<br><br>seven major clades: (1) Allactaga firouzi and A. hotsoni , (2)<br><br>A. williamsi , (3) A. euphratica , (4) A. elater from Esfahan<br><br>and Tehran, (5) A. toussi , (6) A. elater from Golestan, and<br><br>(7) A. elater from Kashmar and Golestan. On the basis of the<br><br>results of current study, A. firouzi and A. hotsoni are synonymized,<br><br>while A. elater could be considered a complex<br><br>species with three subclades. In addition, the geographic<br><br>distribution analysis of the species was clarified and as a<br><br>result, A. euphratica is a new record for the Ilam region.