Phylogeography of Wild Musk Shrew (Suncus Murinus) Populations in Asia Based on Blood Protein/Enzyme Variation

Abstract

The musk shrew (Suncus murinus) is an insectivore species that inhabits tropical and subtropical Asia widely. To clarify the genetic relationship among wild musk shrew populations, we examined the electrophoretic variants of biparentally inherited genetic markers at 10 loci coding for eight blood proteins/enzymes in a total of 639 animals and compared the results obtained from the mitochondrial DNA data. The principal-component analysis performed using the allele frequency data revealed that the 17 populations could be divided into two major groups, a South Asian group and a Southeast Asian group that includes several island populations bound by Myanmar. The degrees of genetic divergence among populations were higher within the Southeast Asian group than within the South Asian group. This finding was incongruent with the mtDNA diversity. Analysis conducted at the individual level showed that a shrew from the central region in Myanmar that carries a South Asian type of mtDNA showed the electrophoretic variants specific to the Southeast Asian group, suggesting that this region is a contact zone between the two major groups.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone II: a multi-purpose neuropeptide

“…Within this large range they vary in size, from adult males weighing 33.3 g in the Philippines to 118.6 g on average in Bangladesh, in coloration of the fur from light to very dark gray and even in chromosome number, between 30 and 40. Musk shrews are excellent colonizers of new habitats and have as high a degree of genetic variability as wild mouse (Mus musculus) populations (Kurachi et al 2007b). Work on variance in mitochondrial mDNA and variation in blood protein in wild trapped members of the species shows 53 mtDNA haplotypes, 14 genetically distinct populations, and 2-3 major geographic groups of populations; South Asia, Southeast Asia and Malay (Malaysian) (Kurachi et al 2007a(Kurachi et al , 2007b.…”

“…Musk shrews are excellent colonizers of new habitats and have as high a degree of genetic variability as wild mouse (Mus musculus) populations (Kurachi et al 2007b). Work on variance in mitochondrial mDNA and variation in blood protein in wild trapped members of the species shows 53 mtDNA haplotypes, 14 genetically distinct populations, and 2-3 major geographic groups of populations; South Asia, Southeast Asia and Malay (Malaysian) (Kurachi et al 2007a(Kurachi et al , 2007b. Unfortunately, genetic data on the Indian musk shrews are lacking, but data from other parts of the range suggest that the species originated in India and migrated into southeastern Asia via Malaysia prior to the arrival of humans, but continuing to migrate along with humans after they arrived (Yamagata et al 1995;Macaulay et al 2005).…”