A new nuclear marker, the “VKORC1 gene exon 3 region”, for the identification of Anatolian Rattus spp.

In this study, exons 1, 2, and 3 of the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) gene, which has been used to indicate anticoagulant rodenticide resistance, were analyzed to investigate whether it is an effective marker for the differentiation of black rats (Rattus rattus Linnaeus, 1758) and brown rats (Rattus norvegicus Berkenhout, 1769) distributed in Anatolia. Although cranial and karyological features distinguish these rat species, morphological discrimination is difficult due to the color variations. In this context, on the basis of the data obtained from genetic diversity values, genetic distance values, Bayesian MCMC dendrograms and Median-joining TCS networks, the Exon 3 region of the VKORC1 gene was determined to function in the discrimination of black and brown rat samples, whereas the Exons 1 and 2 regions did not separate the rat samples via phylogenetic approaches. The results proved that the sequences of the VKORC1 gene in the Exon 3 region are useful as a genetic marker alongside mitochondrial and other nuclear markers for identifying both rat species.