Evolutionary relationships and divergence times among the native rats of Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The genus Rattus is highly speciose and has a complex taxonomy that is not fully resolved. As shown previously there are two major groups within the genus, an Asian and an Australo-Papuan group. This study focuses on the Australo-Papuan group and particularly on the Australian rats. There are uncertainties regarding the number of species within the group and the relationships among them. We analysed 16 mitochondrial genomes, including seven novel genomes from six species, to help elucidate the evolutionary history of the Australian rats. We also demonstrate, from a larger dataset, the usefulness of short regions of the mitochondrial genome in identifying these rats at the species level.

Results

Analyses of 16 mitochondrial genomes representing species sampled from

SUBMITTER: Robins JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3014932 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature