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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Gerbillus (Rodentia, Gerbillinae): Implications for systematics, taxonomy and chromosomal evolution
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 56, No. 2, Year 2010
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Description
Although gerbils forms an important component of the mammalian fauna of arid and semi-arid area, the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationship within the species of the genus Gerbillus are still ambiguous. The present paper introduces findings based on the whole cytochrome b (1140 bp) mitochondrial genes of seven species (Gerbillus campestris, G. latastei, G. nanus, G. tarabuli, G. gerbillus, G. simoni and G. nigeriae) six of which are present in Tunisia. Our results show that all the Gerbillus species are monophyletic. Moreover, molecular phylogeny rejects the genus rank for the taxon Dipodillus. Gebillus nanus, a species belonging to the subgenus Hendecapleura, early diverged from the other species which are divided into two clades: the subgenus Dipodillus, including G. campestris and G. simoni and the subgenus Gerbillus including G. gerbillus, G. nigeriae, G. tarabuli and G. latastei. These results are congruent with morphological and karyological evidences. According to molecular clock, the appearance of the genus Gerbillus coincides with the Miocene-Pliocene expansion of African arid biomes. Extensive intraspecific chromosomal changes evolved in a relatively narrow lapse of time, like in the case of G. latastei, allowing the fixations of different chromosomal variants due to pericentric inversion. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Abiadh, Awatef
Tunisia, Tunis
Université de Tunis el Manar, Faculté Des Sciences de Tunis
Chétoui, M'Barek
Tunisia, Tunis
Université de Tunis el Manar, Faculté Des Sciences de Tunis
Lamine-Cheniti, Taher
Tunisia, Tunis
Université de Tunis el Manar, Faculté Des Sciences de Tunis
Capanna, Ernesto
Italy, Rome
Sapienza Università Di Roma
Colangelo, Paolo
Italy, Rome
Sapienza Università Di Roma
Statistics
Citations: 34
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2010.04.018
ISSN:
10557903
e-ISSN:
10959513
Study Locations
Tunisia