Molecular identification and genetic variation of rattus species from oil palm plantations of Malaysia based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit i (COI) gene sequences
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2022
Abstract
Rats (Rattus species) are the most notorious vertebrate pests in Malaysian oil palm plantations. Although many studies have been conducted on Asian rats, little attention has been paid to their species composition and phylogenetic relationships in oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. We determined the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence (708 bp) for 216 individual rats collected from five oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia. Phylogenetic analysis in conjunction with comparison with sequences from the nucleotide sequence database revealed five distinct lineages in the Malaysian oil plantations: Rattus tiomanicus, Rattus argentiventer, Rattus exulans, Rattus tanezumi, and a taxon corresponding to the Malayan house rat, which was most frequently observed (similar to 50%). The last taxon has traditionally been classified as a synonym of Rattus rattus (Rattus rattus diardii) or Rattus tanezumi, but our phylogenetic analysis placed it as an independent lineage, which is not particularly closely related to R. rattus or R. tanezumi, and which we refer to as Rattus diardii. The construction of the network showed that there is considerable genetic variation within the lineages of R. diardii and R tiomanicus, suggesting that these two species are native to the Malay Peninsula.
Keywords
Malayan house rat, genetic lineage, oil palm plantations, mitochondrial DNA, rat pest, phylogeny, Rattus rattus Complex
Divisions
InstituteofBiologicalSciences,cebar,tidrec
Funders
Ministry of Education, Malaysia [MO002-2019],Ministry of Education, Malaysia [PV037-2018],UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT),The British Council in India
Publication Title
Zoological Science
Volume
39
Issue
6
Publisher
Zoological Society of Japan
Publisher Location
HONGO MT BUILDING 4F, HONGO 7-2-2, BUNKYO-KU, TOKYO, 113-0033, JAPAN