Detection of new phylogenetic lineages in the korean field mouse in the south of Sikhote-Alin based on analysis of the cytochrome <i>b</i> gene variability

The variability of the cytochrome b gene in 11 individuals of Korean field mouse from the Ussuri Nature Reserve, located on the southern spurs of the Sikhote-Alin in the Przewalski Mountains, was analyzed. In the population, a high level of genetic diversity was identified due to the discovery of individuals with haplotypes of three phylogenetic lineages “Amur”, “Korea” and “Manchuria”. The majority of individuals (72.73%) in the population had “Amur” haplotypes. A significantly lower frequency of occurrence of individuals with “Korea” haplotypes in the Ussuri Nature Reserve (9.09%) compared to the previously analyzed population of the Khasansky District (38.46%) located in the very south of the Primorsky Krai was noted. In the Ussuri Nature Reserve, for the first time in the Russian Far East, two individuals with “Manchuria” haplotypes were discovered. Previously, only one finding of an individual with a similar haplotype was noted in the literature in the Heilongjiang province of Northeast China. It has been suggested that individuals with haplotypes of the “Korea” phylogroup penetrate into the south of Sikhote-Alin from South Korea, and with haplotypes of the “Manchuria” phylogroup from Northeast China.