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Molecular Phylogeography of Harvest Mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) Based on Cytochrome b DNA Sequences

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Abstract

The species of harvest mouse Reithrodontomys megalotis belongs to one of the most diverse genera in North America with a wide latitudinal and altitudinal distribution. Previous studies suggest the existence of great morphological, chromosomal, and genetic variability; however, few of them have addressed the evolutionary patterns at the intraspecific level. We analyzed the evolutionary relationships and levels of genetic divergence in R. megalotis using DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The results of the analysis with different phylogeographic methods show that R. megalotis represents a monophyletic group with respect to R. zacatecae, and populations included here split in three groups that were always consistent. Populations from the southern distribution form the first clade; from western North America form the second clade; and the third one comprises the populations of the Central Plains from the southern United States and the Mexican Plateau. The values of average genetic divergence within and among clades are low (< 3.4 %) compared to other species with similar distribution and times of divergence and origin. The results of this work are discussed in the context of the low genetic divergence found, given its wide and heterogeneous distribution together with its morphological variation. It is suggested that populations of R. megalotis have probably developed considerable phenotypic plasticity whose analysis and description should be approached from an ecological more than historical perspective.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the PhD Dissertation of ENG, supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología scholarship number 163092. We thank Drs. James L. Patton of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California; Duke S. Rogers of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University; Sergio Ticul Álvarez-Castañeda of the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste; Celia López González of the Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango; Francisco X. González-Cózatl of the Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos for providing tissue samples and/or DNA sequences. We also thank Dr. Rachel M. Vallejo, Cyndi Colin L. Roman, Mariana González Tellez, Armando Pérez Barrios, Sergio Albino Miranda, and Scarleth Sotelo Reyes for their help doing field work; and Dr. Ana L. Almendra for her help and comments in some analyses. The research conducted with partial resources granted by the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos through Fondo de Consolidación para Universidades Públicas Estatales y Apoyo Solidario 2010. Finally, we appreciate the comments made by anonymous reviewers, which were useful to the manuscript.

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  1. Departamento de Sistemática y Evolución, Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP, Mexico

    Elizabeth Nava-García & Elizabeth Arellano

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad No. 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP, Mexico

    José Antonio Guerrero-Enríquez

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  1. Elizabeth Nava-García
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Arellano.

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Nava-García, E., Guerrero-Enríquez, J.A. & Arellano, E. Molecular Phylogeography of Harvest Mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) Based on Cytochrome b DNA Sequences. J Mammal Evol 23, 297–307 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-015-9318-5

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