Fatemeh Todehdehghan, Corresponding Author: Venomous animals & antivenin production department, Razi vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Hesarak, Karaj, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Gloydius halys caucasicus (Nikolsky 1916) is a venomous viper, distributed in China, N Iran, S/SW Russia, Kazakhstan (between Volga and Ural River), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, E Afghanistan, Mongolia and Turkmenistan. This viper is biomedical and economically important snake in the Iran. Data presented here, is on the genetic structure and relationship of different populations of Caucasian viper, from mountainous areas of the Takht –E- Soleiman, Talagan in the Alborz province and Lar, in the Tehran province of the Iran. Thirty one snakes were collected during Khordad -Murdad (Jun- August) months in the year, 1392, and kept in an vivarium under conventional conditions. To do molecular studies, the DNA genome were extracted from snake's blood samples (All procedures were carried out in accordance with ISIRI 7216-2 animal ethical guidelines) and used to perform the Nested PCR. In the PCR, a 755- bp fragment from the D- loop mitochondrial genome (used for sequencing) was amplified and the PCR product was sequenced. Nineteen variable nucleotide sites and ten haplotypes were identified. In all the 19 position variable substitution mutations had occurred and no In/Del were observed. These nucleotide changes indicate the presence of high genetic diversity in the sequences and show strong inclination to substitutional changes in the nucleotides. Phylogenetic tree based on genetic distance matrix was drawn. Cluster analysis showed some differentiations between populations while some individuals of different population grouped in one cluster with high similarity. AMOVA and phylogenetic tree analysis showed a significant differences in the populations of the Caucasian viper in the Iran (P <0.003), which represents the genetic variation between populations. It seems that the genetic characteristics of a species in each region are affected by the geographical / ecological conditions.

Keywords
Mitochondrial genome, phylogeny, Pit Viper, Iran

Cite this paper
Abaas MalekMohammadi, Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani, Fatemeh Todehdehghan, Genetic relationship between different populations of the Gloydius halys caucasicus (Nikolsky 1916) of mountainous areas of the Iran , SCIREA Journal of Agriculture. Volume 1, Issue 2, December 2016 | PP. 214-230.

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