Phylogenetic Status and Genetic Diversity of the Turkish Marbled Polecat, Vormela peregusna, (Mustelidae: Carnivora: Mammalia), inferred from the Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene

Previous genetic studies of marbled polecats did not include samples collected in Turkey. Therefore, the current knowledge is not sufficient to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among marbled polecat populations. The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic diversity of the Turkish population and to reveal the phylogenetic relationships between the Turkish population and other marbled polecat populations. To accomplish this, we analyzed 17 cytochrome b gene sequences from Turkey and compared these with 10 cytochrome b gene sequences from the GenBank database. To construct the phylogenetic tree, we used the Neighbor-Joining, Maximum Likelihood, Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian methods, and also a median-joining network to assess relationships among haplotypes of the marbled polecat. The performed analyses, except for Bayesian method, yielded three main haplogroups within the marbled polecat. Haplogroup 1 contained haplotypes from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey (Anatolia), Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Haplogroup 2 consisted of haplotypes from Turkey (Thrace), Turkmenistan and an unknown location, and Haplogroup 3 (Turkish Main Haplogroup) contained only the Turkish haplotypes. The present study shows that the Turkish population consists of individuals from all these three distinct phylogroups, and emphasized the importance of data obtained from the Turkish samples to reveal the phylogenetic relations among marbled polecat populations.