IDENTIFICATION OF THREE IRANIAN SPECIES OF THE GENUS RATTUS (RODENTIA, MURIDAE) USING A PCR-RFLP TECHNIQUE ON MITOCHONDRIAL DNA

Three species of the genus Rattus Fisher, 1803 have been reported from Iran: the brown rat (R. norvegicus), the black rat (R. rattus) and the Himalayan rat (R. pyctoris). The first two were introduced, whilst R. pyctoris is native and lives in mountainous regions from Pakistan to north-eastern Iran. In this study, the mitochondrial DNA from twenty six rats were analysed using a PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragments Length Polymorphism) method to investigate inter-specific variation. Part of the 16S rRNA and cytochrome h genes were amplified and digested with three restriction enzymes: AluI, MboI and HinfI. Restriction fragments resulted in four different haplotypes and allowed to distinguish the three Rattus species. Our results suggest that the Himalayan rats are more closely related to R. rattus than to R. norvegicus and provide the basics for further phylogenetic studies.