DNA barcoding of the mesic adapted striped mouse, Rhabdomys dilectus in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa

Abstract

AbstractSouth African small mammals are under-represented in DNA barcoding efforts, particularly from the eastern forested regions of the country. This study reports DNA barcoding ofRhabdomystaxa from previously unsampled parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The complete mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was sequenced for 101Rhabdomyssp. individuals from 16 localities from all three main forest groups (coastal, mistbelt, and scarp forests). Molecular data were supplemented with external morphological measurements, including those deemed potential taxonomically diagnostic characters. Findings indicate the area to be inhabited solely byRhabdomys dilectus chakae. Haplotypes distributed across the three forest groups were separated by shallow sequence divergences ranging from 0.001–0.015 (Kimura 2-parameter model) and displayed very little population genetic structure (FST= 0.071787). Morphological data revealed some regional metric differences in external morphology, but all the head-and-body to tail (HB: tail) ratios match that ofR. d. chakae, and consequently, molecular and morphological data are congruent. These data confirm a range extension ofR. d. chakae, supporting the utility of COI barcodes in the identification of small mammalian species.