Molecular phylogenetic investigation of toads based on sequencing of the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene

Amphibians inhabit a wide variety of habitats and environments, such as arboreal, terrestrial and freshwater aquatic ecosystems, and are considered among the vertebrate classes to exhibit one of the most diverse distributions. Their life histories, behaviour and diversity play vital roles in assessing environmental and evolutionary theories. The mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis has been widely used in molecular taxonomy and is frequently used in systematic analyses of families and genera. This study examines taxonomic relationships among 18 specimens of the Arabian toad (Sclerophrys arabica) and the Dhofar toad (Bufo dhufarensis) from Al Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia by estimating phylogenetic relationships using the mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA). Results indicate the presence of four new lineages of toads among the samples in this study. The generated phylogenetic tree grouped all samples of Arabian toad in one clade, while the Dhofar toad samples were divided into three subclades. This is the first study to be reported the genetic diversity of Al Madinah Province toads. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.