Genetic comparison of genus emys and mauremys distributed in Aegean and Central Anatolia (Turkey)

Microsatellites are simple tandem sequence repeats consisting of 1- 6 base pairs (bp) with high frequency in the nuclear genome. Contrary to population genetic studies based solely on mitochondrial DNA expression, the use of microsatellite loci based on our project will enable us to obtain more important data on the phylogeny and gene flow of an inside and a coastal populations of the syntopic living genus Emys and Mauremys. In our study two haplotypes for M. caspica (Cmt8 ve Cmt9) and three haplotypes for M.rivulata (Rmt3, Rmt24 ve Rmt26) were found. Collected from coastal region three haplotypes of Emys orbicularis (Im, Ip ve Iw) and collected from inland region two haplotypes of Emys orbicularis (Ig and Im) were found. The K value for both populations was defined as 2 in the STRUCTURE analysis used for the most probable value as a result of the genotypic structuring using microsatellite loci for both species. The FST value between populations of M. rivulata and M. caspica species was calculated as 0.39388. The FST value between the coastal and inland populations of E.orbicularis species was determined as 0.09165. The genetic basis of the presence of different species living together in different geographical regions has thus been revealed and it has been found that this phylogeographic differentiation is of an ancestral origin rather than the possibility of being environmentally. We also believe that the data obtained will create a genetic basis for future protection of the species.