Evaluation of phylogenetic relationships in the genus Mus using t-specific microsatellite DNA markers

Abstract

The t-complex includes a complex system of genes localized in the proximal region of chromosome 17 of house mouse Mus musculus. The results of microsatellite analysis of laboratory stocks of house mice carrying t12, t(w5) t(w12), and t(w73) haplotypes and wild mice from natural populations of Russia (Volgograd, Rostov, Saratov oblasts, and Kalmykia), Armenia, Bulgaria, Iran, and Mongolia performed by the PCR method with the use of eight pairs of D17Mit primers (16, 21, 23, 28, 32, 57, 63, 78) are presented. These pairs of primers amplify microsatellite DNA sequences on mouse chromosome 17 in the region from 7.6 to 18.8 cM that correspond to inversions (In (17) 3, 4). Each pair of primers recognized three to six variants of nucleotide sequences ranging in size from 90--120 bp (D17Mit 16) to 300--330 bp (D17Mit 57). In most cases, two variants of nucleotide sequences were detected in each individual, i. e., most individuals were heterozygous for the microsatellite loci under study. The highest similarity of the spectra of microsatellite DNA fragments was revealed in laboratory stocks of house mice carrying the t(w5) and t(w73) haplotypes. The spectra of animals from the Rostov and Volgograd oblasts appeard to be most similar to them. The microsatellite spectra of individuals from Iran closely resemble the spectrum of an individual from Armenia. It was demonstrated that amplified microsatellite fragments localized in the region of the t-complex can be used to identify representatives of the Mus genus from wild populations.