Genetic Structure and Differentiation of Hyla savignyi from the Southern Population in Anatolia

Genetic diversity and population structure of two populations of Hyla savignyi in Southern Anatolia (İskenderun; Hatay and Bozova; Şanlıurfa) were evaluated using twelve microsatellite loci. The alleles per locus ranged from 3 (Ha-B5R3) to 15 (Ha-T67) for İskenderun (Hatay) and ranged from 2 (Ha-B5R3) to 17 (Ha-T67) for Bozova (Şanlıurfa). The mean number of private alleles was found to be 2.5 and 1.83 for İskenderun (Hatay) and Bozova (Şanlıurfa), respectively. Genetic diversity parameters are nearly the same for the two localities. All two populations of H. savignyi showed no significant excess heterozygosity (p > 0.05) according to three bottleneck test models (IAM, SMM, and TPM). The SMM and TPM found significant heterozygosity deficiency in the İskenderun (Hatay) population and the Bozova (Şanlıurfa) population according to the SMM model. According to Structure analysis, two distinct clusters exist in Southern Türkiye. Previous researchers in H. savignyi mention cryptic speciation and the occurrence of two lineages in the Middle East. This study is the first population genetic study that revealed genetic differences and similarities between these two lineages.