Morphological and molecular characterization of Tatera indica Hardwicke 1807 (Rodentia: Muridae) from Pothwar, Pakistan.

Genus Tatera is comprised of 12 species, but only one species, Tatera indica, exists in Asia. T. indica is considered an agricultural pest and host of a few zoonotic diseases. However, the data on morphological characteristics are published, but the aspect of molecular characterization is lacking to confirm the status of subspecies in most of the Asian countries including Pakistan. Therefore, the present study is the first study on morphological and molecular characterization of T. indica to get a phylogenetic relationship with the population of T. indica in Pakistan. Almost all the morphometric, cranial, and dental values of T. indica were lower in the present study as compared to the specimen from Iran, Syria, and Turkey. The molecular analysis indicated the presence of sub-species of T. indica. Interestingly, the cytochrome b gene sequence showed more resemblance to the Iranian rat than the previously reported sequence of a Pakistani T. indica. Iran shares a border with Pakistan, and migration between the two countries could be a possible reason. The resembling morphometric data on Iranian rats also explain this phenomenon. The present study found, although minor, evidence of the presence of sub-species even within Pakistan. Unfortunately, the previously submitted sequence from Pakistan was not supplemented with morphometric data and the exact capturing site of the rat. Therefore, further molecular and morphometric data from other regions are required to confirm the presence of sub-species.

Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity and Phylogeography of Mus musculus castaneus in Northern Punjab, Pakistan.

Regions of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India have been proposed as the place of origin of Mus musculus castaneus. But despite the fact that Pakistan encompasses an important part of its range, M. m. castaneus populations in Pakistan have not been the subject of intensive genetic and biogeographic studies, except for a very small number of samples included in past studies. We studied genetic variation in M. m. castaneus (CAS) from northern Punjab Province, Pakistan, by using cytochrome b (Cytb) analysis in a sample of 98 individuals. Median-joining network revealed four well differentiated CAS sub-lineages coexisting within a small geographical region; these had previously been thought to have largely non-overlapping geographic distributions. Moreover, haplotypes from Pakistan occupied a central position in the network and all identified global haplotypes were also present in Pakistan. All identified CAS sub-lineages proved to be highly diverse on the basis of haplotype and nucleotide diversity indices. Tajima's D test and Fu's Fs tests of neutrality suggest recent population expansions in all sub-lineages. Expansion times were estimated as 21,760-134,930, 10,800-64,400 and 4950-30,665 ybp using substitution rates of 2.5%, 5% and 11%, respectively. Our results support the hypothesis that northern Punjab Province in Pakistan is the most likely source area for M. m. castaneus, and that the CAS sub-lineages in this region have undergone rapid population expansion events at different time periods, which appear to have benefitted from human-mediated transport, although one of them clearly predates the establishment of human settlements in this region.