Genetic Diversity of Hottentotta sp. Scorpions (Scorpionidae: Buthidae) in Khuzestan, Iran

The genus of Hottentotta sp. scorpion is one of the few medically important scorpions in Iran. This study assessed the genetic relationship analysis of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI) and ۱۲sRNA genes and morphometric parameters among the population of Hottentotta sp in Khuzestan. Morphological analysis using the ANOVA T-test with a significance level of P-value less than ۰.۰۵ showed differences between the Hottetotta saulcyi and Hottetotta zagrosensis. However, this method was not able to distinguish between members of the same species. The amplification of gene fragments was done on ۱۲srRNA (۳۷۴ bp), and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COXI) (۶۲۴ bp) from Hottentotta sp. collected from Khuzestan by PCR. Based on sequence ۱۲srRNA, all H. saulcyi specimens (HS۴, HS۶ and HS۷) except HS۵ were included in cluster B. While two specimens of H. Zagrosensis (HZ۶ and HZ۱) with ۹۹% bootstrap value were placed in cluster A. By using ۱۲srRNA sequences, the highest genetic distance between the Khuzestan specimens was related to HS۵ and HS۷, which was calculated to be ۱۶.۷%. However, the amount of amino acid difference between HS۵ and HS۷ using the COXI sequence was ۹.۲%. The genetic distances of HS۷ and HS۵ with the only scorpion reference sequence, H. saulcyi, were ۱۱.۸% and ۹.۲%, respectively. Morphological data showed the separation of the two species, consistent with molecular phylogenetic trees. On the other hand, the genetic distance of specimens HS۷ and HS۵ with other members of the group as well as the scorpion reference sequence using the COXI gene, confirmed the possibility of an intraspecies difference that could not be proved by the morphological data alone.

کلیدواژه ها:

Scorpion ، Phylogenetic analysis ، ۱۲srRNA ، cytochrome oxidase c subunit ۱ ، Hottentotta sp