Sequence Divergence of Mitochondrial 12S rRNA Gene and Phylogenetic Relationship Between Rattus rattus Sladeni and Rattus rattus Hainanicus

The appearance and hair color between these two subspecies Rattus rattus Sladeni and R.r. Hainanicus are similar to each other. Their most major distinctive characteristic is the length ratio of tail to body. However, this characteristic was unstable in some measuring records. In Guangdong, R.r. Hainanicus is restrictedly distributed in the west region, and R.r. Sladeni is widely distributed in the other regions of this province. In this study, we detected the sequences of mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene fragments of 9 samples from R.r. Hainanicus and R.r. Sladeni (Longmen and Hong Kong populations). These 385 nucleotide positions of 12S rRNA gene fragment include 26 variable sites and 14 parsimony-informative sites. 3 insertion/deletion sites are observed. The phylogenetic relationships among these samples were constructed by Neighbor-joining and Maximum parsimony methods. The analysis shows that R.r. Hainanicus is more closely relative to the Longmen population of R.r. Sladeni than to the Hong Kong population of R.r. Sladeni. The sequencing analysis of 12S rRNA gene fragments is not agreement on the classification of subspecies R. r. Hainanicus inferred from the morphology and geographical distribution. The morphological variation of R.r. Hainanicus should result from the natural selection, which causes local adaptation and geographic isolation.