PARENT SESSION

Genetics/Evolution 3 -- Session Chair: Karen McBee-- University Center, Kate Buchanan Room

MOLECULAR ECOTOXICOLOGY AND THE DISCOVERY THAT APODEMUS SYLVATICUS IS COMPOSED OF AT LEAST TWO WIDE SPREAD SPECIES. Yelena V. Dunina-Barkovskaya¹, Jeffrey K. Wickliffe², Brenda E. Rodgers³, Carleton J. Phillips¹, Ronald K. Chesser¹, Mitsuhiko Asakawa⁴, Sergey Gaschak⁴ and Robert J. Baker¹. ¹ Department of Biological Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; ² Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA; ³ Department of Life, Earth & Environmental Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX, USA; ⁴ Dept. of Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan.

ABSTRACT- DNA variation in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and in the intron 7 of the nuclear beta fibrinogen gene in specimens identified from morphology as Apodemus sylvaticus indicate that two biological species are sympatric at Nedanchichy, Ukraine. One of the species from Nedanchichy has mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence identical to a specimen from Yugoslavia and cluster with specimens from Italy, Turkey, Greece and Slovenia, and the other species at Nedanchichy shares greater sequence identity with specimens from UK, France, Spain, Sweden and Tunisia. These two observations lead to the conclusion that within what is currently recognized as Apodemus sylvaticus, there are at least two widespread biological species. As the type localities for A. sylvaticus is uppsala Sweden (a linnean name) the northern phylotype is referred to A. sylvaticus. The name for second type is unclear at this time. In our sample (N=80) of supposed Apodemus sylvaticus from northern Ukraine, 75 were from one species and five were from the other. The five specimens in the second species were found at only one locality. Studies, which base results on one or a few specimens from a single locality, have a high probability of underestimating species diversity if the situation in Apodemus sylvaticus from northern Ukraine is common.

KEY WORDS: cytochrome b gene, sympatry, Apodemus, beta fibrinogen