The use of PCR-RFLP as an identification tool for two closely related species of bats of genus Platyrrhinus

Abstract

The bat species Platyrrhinus lineatus and P. recifinus (Phyllostomidae: Stenodermatinae) are ecologically important because of their capacity for seed dispersal. P. recifinus is endemic to the Atlantic rain forest and is considered vulnerable by the IUCN. The lack of distinct morphological features makes identification of the two species a difficult task. This study was aimed at testing the hypothesis that these are actually two distinct species by using PCR-RFLP of the mitochondrial cytocrome b gene. The results showed no shared haplotypes, demonstrating that these are, in fact, two distinct species. No polymorphism was obtained for P. recifinus, which could be a sign of low genetic diversity in this threatened species.

Molecular taxonomy of Plagioscion Heckel (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) and evidence from mtDNA RFLP markers for an invasive species in the Paraná river, Southern Brazil

“…Mitochondrial DNA has been extensively studied in fish and most vertebrate groups (MOYSES & ALMEIDA-TOLEDO 2002, JÉRÔME et al 2003, PALO & MERILÄ 2003, REEDLE et al 2003, FRANCESCA et al 2004, BREMER et al 2005, FERREIRA et al 2005. Thus, the well-characterized cytochrome b gene is particularly useful in the analysis of the relationship between recently diverged taxa (STEPIEN & KOCHER 1997) and is a powerful mtDNA marker for species levels (MEYER 1994) since two specimens with different molecular profiles may be considered as different species (see PARSON et al 2000 for details).…”