Determination of Genetic Diversity and Paternity in the Gray-Tailed Vole (Microtus canicaudus) by RAPD-PCR

Abstract

Genetic relatedness of gray-tailed voles (Microtus canicaudus) was determined by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). This work is the first reported use of the RAPD method for pedigree analysis of M. canicaudus and demonstrates the feasibility of RAPD for assessing paternity and genetic similarity between inbred and outbred individuals. Amplified polymorphisms and two statistical approaches were used to evaluate genetic similarities between individual voles. DNA profiles of wild-caught (outbred) voles were significantly less similar than were inbred voles, using two different primers (P ≤ 0.03 and P ≤ 0.003). In pedigree analyses using three unrelated males in a discrimination test, indication of paternity was based upon bands shared by the progeny and the male in question. Non-sire males produced bands that were not seen in the probable father or offspring and, conversely, bands were found in the progeny that were apparently inherited only from the probable sire. The RAPD procedure may have wide applications in identifying genetic relationships among individuals to estimate genetic heterogeneity, determine parentage, and address questions concerning gene flow and kinship in feral vole populations.