Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria
Bats form a diverse order of mammals with a crucial ecological role. Bat populations appear to be declining because of human-induced environmental stress. Genetic methods contribute to study the species’ diversity and assess their population status. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of bats ac...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/jbiolres/article/view/9024 |
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| author | Aristotelis Moulistanos Giorgos Chatzoglou Nikoletta Karaiskou Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis Styliani Minoudi Ioannis Papoulidis Charalambos Alivizatos Maria Panagiotopoulou Dionisios Youlatos Maria Tsaktsira Alexandros Triantafyllidis Apostolos Scaltsoyiannes |
| author_facet | Aristotelis Moulistanos Giorgos Chatzoglou Nikoletta Karaiskou Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis Styliani Minoudi Ioannis Papoulidis Charalambos Alivizatos Maria Panagiotopoulou Dionisios Youlatos Maria Tsaktsira Alexandros Triantafyllidis Apostolos Scaltsoyiannes |
| author_sort | Aristotelis Moulistanos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bats form a diverse order of mammals with a crucial ecological role. Bat populations appear to be declining because of human-induced environmental stress. Genetic methods contribute to study the species’ diversity and assess their population status. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of bats across the Rhodope Mountain Range, where both species with a large distribution as well as rare species with a limited distribution are found. Βat samples were collected and morphologically identified within the catchment area of Nestos (Mesta) River and from caves in the region of Momchilgrad – Komotini. Based on the analysis of a mitochondrial COI gene region of 650 bp length, the samples were classified in 9 distinct genera and 21 species, an important part of Balkan bat species diversity. Miniopterus schreibersii displayed the highest number of haplotypes and Rhinolophus hipposideros the highest mtDNA diversity levels. The majority of the samples were grouped with other European sequences and no specific geographic distribution of haplotypes was observed, except for Barbastella barbastellus and Hypsugo savii, where a western/eastern divide is apparent. Three species with the most numerous samples were further analyzed using 4-5 microsatellite markers per species. No sign of population differentiation was found between studied samples for these three species and moderate to high diversity levels were detected for Rhinolophus blasii and Rhinolophus euryale in contrast to mitochondrial analysis. The results confirm the presence of specific bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria through genetic identification and provide information for levels of genetic variation for some of them that may contribute to future bat management efforts in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T05:54:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0c74a85aab6045c1a6fd262542c1c455 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2241-5793 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T05:54:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki |
| spelling | doaj.art-0c74a85aab6045c1a6fd262542c1c4552024-04-23T09:10:16ZengAristotle University of ThessalonikiJournal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki2241-57932023-06-0130010.26262/jbrt.v30i0.90248181Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and BulgariaAristotelis MoulistanosGiorgos ChatzoglouNikoletta KaraiskouKonstantinos GkagkavouzisStyliani MinoudiIoannis PapoulidisCharalambos AlivizatosMaria PanagiotopoulouDionisios YoulatosMaria TsaktsiraAlexandros TriantafyllidisApostolos ScaltsoyiannesBats form a diverse order of mammals with a crucial ecological role. Bat populations appear to be declining because of human-induced environmental stress. Genetic methods contribute to study the species’ diversity and assess their population status. We aimed to study the genetic diversity of bats across the Rhodope Mountain Range, where both species with a large distribution as well as rare species with a limited distribution are found. Βat samples were collected and morphologically identified within the catchment area of Nestos (Mesta) River and from caves in the region of Momchilgrad – Komotini. Based on the analysis of a mitochondrial COI gene region of 650 bp length, the samples were classified in 9 distinct genera and 21 species, an important part of Balkan bat species diversity. Miniopterus schreibersii displayed the highest number of haplotypes and Rhinolophus hipposideros the highest mtDNA diversity levels. The majority of the samples were grouped with other European sequences and no specific geographic distribution of haplotypes was observed, except for Barbastella barbastellus and Hypsugo savii, where a western/eastern divide is apparent. Three species with the most numerous samples were further analyzed using 4-5 microsatellite markers per species. No sign of population differentiation was found between studied samples for these three species and moderate to high diversity levels were detected for Rhinolophus blasii and Rhinolophus euryale in contrast to mitochondrial analysis. The results confirm the presence of specific bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria through genetic identification and provide information for levels of genetic variation for some of them that may contribute to future bat management efforts in the region.https://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/jbiolres/article/view/9024coi geneminiopterus schreibersiirhinolophus speciesheterozygosityrhodopi mountain rangebalkan peninsula |
| spellingShingle | Aristotelis Moulistanos Giorgos Chatzoglou Nikoletta Karaiskou Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis Styliani Minoudi Ioannis Papoulidis Charalambos Alivizatos Maria Panagiotopoulou Dionisios Youlatos Maria Tsaktsira Alexandros Triantafyllidis Apostolos Scaltsoyiannes Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria Journal of Biological Research - Thessaloniki coi gene miniopterus schreibersii rhinolophus species heterozygosity rhodopi mountain range balkan peninsula |
| title | Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria |
| title_full | Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria |
| title_fullStr | Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria |
| title_short | Genetic diversity of bat species in the cross-border area of Greece and Bulgaria |
| title_sort | genetic diversity of bat species in the cross border area of greece and bulgaria |
| topic | coi gene miniopterus schreibersii rhinolophus species heterozygosity rhodopi mountain range balkan peninsula |
| url | https://ejournals.lib.auth.gr/jbiolres/article/view/9024 |
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