Microsatélites revelan heterocigosidad y estructura poblacional de murciélagos vampiro (Desmodus rotundus) (Quiróptera: Phyllostomidae) de México

Abstract

A limited number of studies have focused on the population genetic structure of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) in America. This medium-sized bat is distributed in tropical areas of the continent with high prevalence in forested livestock areas. The aim of this work was to characterize the vampire population structure and their genetic differentiation. For this, we followed standard methods by which live vampires (caught by mist-netting) and preserved material from scientific collections, were obtained for a total of 15 different locations, ranging from Chihuahua (North) to Quintana Roo (Southeast). Tissue samples were obtained from both live and collected animals, and the genetic differentiation, within and among localities, was assessed by the use of seven microsatellite loci. Our results showed that all loci were polymorphic and no private alleles were detected. High levels of heterozygosis were detected when the proportion of alleles in each locus were compared. Pairwise F ST and R ST detected significant genetic differentiation among individuals from different localities. Our population structure results indicate the presence of eleven clusters, with a high percentage of assigned individuals to some specific collecting site. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (2): 659-669. Epub 2014 June 01.Key words: heterozygosity, México, microsatellite, population structure, vampire bats.Phyllostomid bats are often abundant and widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of America, seemingly due the evolutionary origin of the group and its local adaptations to appropriate tropical habitats (Wetterer, Rockman, & Simmons, 2000). Some phyllostomid species are more tolerant to human disturbance and extreme conditions of fragmented habitats, these species are adapted to a semi-natural matrix (a mix of original habitat with different levels of human induced disturbance), and may function as a measure of habitat integrity (Medellín, Equihua, & Amin, 2000). Several authors evaluated the ecological role of phyllostomid bats as indicators of habitat disturbance (Johns, Wilson, & Pine, 1985;Fenton et al., 1992;Medellín, et al., 2000), showing how some phyllostomids are linked to human disturbances. For instance, the Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) is a common component of the urban fauna in tropical Middle America. Similarly, the high abundance of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) has been linked to the growth of livestock production (Medellín et al., 2000).The genetic structure of wild animals reveals information about population size, dispersal, reproductive success, mating system, relatedness, among much other potential information (Kerth, Safi, & König, 2002). Locally abundant populations are expected to maintain high levels of gene flow, augmented genetic diversity, and to have high genetic divergence when compared to geographically distant populations. Genetic structure is defined as genetically differentiated populations due to physical barriers to migration combined with the dispersal ability of t...

Host–pathogen evolutionary signatures reveal dynamics and future invasions of vampire bat rabies

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“…Standard measures for our microsatellites may have important implications in the evolutionary biology of the target species, because they can be used to develop conservation strategies for Neotropical bats. Highly informative microsatellites have been used to assess genetic diversity in a broad range of bat populations and to propose measures for conservation (i.e., Rossiter et al, 2000; Romero-Nava, León-Paniagua & Ortega, 2014; Korstian, Hale & Williams, 2015). …”

Genetic demography at the leading edge of the distribution of a rabies virus vector

“…Romero-Nava et al (2014) used a subset of seven of 12 microsatellite loci used in the current study to analyze the genetic diversity of D. rotundus from 15 states across Mexico. One locality overlapped our sampling area, where they collected 12 bats from Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí(Figure 1).…”

“…Romero-Nava et al (2014) used a subset of seven of 12 microsatellite loci used in the current study to analyze the genetic diversity of D. rotundus from 15 states across Mexico. They found notably low levels of allelic richness and genetic diversity at this location relative to the others sampled Romero-Nava et al (2014). They found notably low levels of allelic richness and genetic diversity at this location relative to the others sampled Romero-Nava et al (2014).…”

“…We would also like T A B L E 2 The number of homozygotes per locus, total samples per locus, and the proportion of homozygotes to total samples forRomero-Nava et al (2014) and this study HO, Homozygotes; T, total samples; HO/T, proportion of homozygotes at the locus across all samples.Romero-Nava et al, 2014. b This study. This interpretation of our data is supported by panmixia with low genetic diversity, low population differentiation, loss of intermediate-sized alleles at microsatellite loci, and very low mtDNA haplotype diversity with all haplotypes being very closely related.…”