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Alireza Pesarakloo

Alireza Pesarakloo

Academic rank: Associate Professor
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5599-6525
Education: PhD.
ScopusId: 57039032100
HIndex:
Faculty: Science
Address: Arak University
Phone:

Research

Title
Genetic Structure of the Hyrcanian wood frog, Rana pseudodalmatina (Amphibia: Ranidae) Using mtDNA Gene Sequences
Type
JournalPaper
Keywords
R. pseudodalmatina, the Hyrcanian forests, mitochondrial DNA, two distinct haplogroups, population expansion
Year
2018
Journal Russian journal of Genetics
DOI
Researchers Masoumeh Najibzadeh ، Ahmeh Gharezi ، Nasrullah Rastegar Puyani ، اسکندر Rastegar Poyani ، Alireza Pesarakloo

Abstract

Population structuring of a species provide basic information for biological conservation. We investigated the genetic structure of seven populations of Rana pseudodalmatina, an endemic species of the Ranidae inhabiting the Hyrcanian forests in northern Iran, based on the genetic variation of two partial mitochondrial DNA sequences (16SrRNA and cytochrome b genes). Molecular genetic analyses revealed remarkable variation among populations of R. pseudodalmatina. The phylogenetic trees clearly indicated two distinct haplogroups, which largely corresponded to their geographic locations. A strong population structure was found (ΦCT = 0.559, P = 0.027) with high haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.88) and low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0041). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most of the observed genetic variation (55.92%) occurred between the two haplogroups. Also, Mantel tests revealed a significant correlation between geographic and genetic distances (R2 = 0.33, P = 0.005). Finally, the star-like topology of haplotype network and also neutrality testsprovide strong evidence for population expansion in two haplogroups. All the findings of the present study, suggest a strong evidence for past expansion of isolated populations of R. pseudodalmatina, which their isolation could be largely attributed to rising level of the Caspian Sea during last glacial periods in the Pleistocene.