Population structure and evolutionary history of the greater cane rat ( Thryonomys swinderianus ) from the Guinean Forests of West Africa

Grasscutter ( ) is a large-body old world rodent found in sub-Saharan Africa. The body size and the unique taste of the meat of this major crop pest have made it a target of intense hunting and a potential consideration as a micro-livestock. However, there is insufficient knowledge on the genetic di...

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Published in:	Frontiers in genetics Vol. 14; p. 1041103
Main Authors:	Babarinde, Isaac A, Adeola, Adeniyi C, Djagoun, Chabi A M S, Nneji, Lotanna M, Okeyoyin, Agboola O, Niba, George, Wanzie, Ndifor K, Oladipo, Ojo C, Adebambo, Ayotunde O, Bello, Semiu F, Ng'ang'a, Said I, Olaniyi, Wasiu A, Okoro, Victor M O, Adedeji, Babatunde E, Olatunde, Omotoso, Ayoola, Adeola O, Matouke, Moise M, Wang, Yun-Yu, Sanke, Oscar J, Oseni, Saidu O, Nwani, Christopher D, Murphy, Robert W
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 27-02-2023
Subjects:	genetic diversity Genetics lower guinean forests mitochondrial sequences population structure Thryonomys swinderianus mitochondrial sequences Thryonomys swinderianus genetic diversity lower guinean forests population structure
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Summary:	Grasscutter ( ) is a large-body old world rodent found in sub-Saharan Africa. The body size and the unique taste of the meat of this major crop pest have made it a target of intense hunting and a potential consideration as a micro-livestock. However, there is insufficient knowledge on the genetic diversity of its populations across African Guinean forests. Herein, we investigated the genetic diversity, population structures and evolutionary history of seven Nigerian wild grasscutter populations together with individuals from Cameroon, Republic of Benin, and Ghana, using five mitochondrial fragments, including D-loop and cytochrome b ( ). D-loop haplotype diversity ranged from 0.571 (± 0.149) in Republic of Benin to 0.921 (± 0.013) in Ghana. Within Nigeria, the haplotype diversity ranged from 0.659 (± 0.059) in Cross River to 0.837 (± 0.075) in Ondo subpopulation. The fixation index (F ), haplotype frequency distribution and analysis of molecular variance revealed varying levels of population structures across populations. No significant signature of population contraction was detected in the grasscutter populations. Evolutionary analyses of suggests that South African population might have diverged from other populations about 6.1 (2.6-10.18, 95% CI) MYA. Taken together, this study reveals the population status and evolutionary history of grasscutter populations in the region.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Luc Hippolyte Dossa, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Justice Opare Odoi, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana Reviewed by: Giovanni Zecca, Independent researcher, Milan, Italy Edited by: Samuel A. Cushman, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States This article was submitted to Evolutionary and Population Genetics, a section of the journal Frontiers in Genetics These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship
ISSN:	1664-8021 1664-8021
DOI:	10.3389/fgene.2023.1041103