Molecular-genetic characteristics of marsh frog from the Republic of Dagestan (based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data)

Molecular genetic analysis of 20 specimen of Pelophylax ridibundus complex from 4 locations in Republic of Dagestan (Russia) were conducted using COI and SAI-1 DNA markers. The mtDNA haplotype typical for “east-ern” form of marsh frog (=Anatolian P. cf. bedriagae) is prevalent in Republic of Dagestan, while haplotype pe-culiar to the “western” form (=Central European P. ridibundus) is fully absent. Analysis of nuDNA nevertheless revealed remarkable presence of alleles belonging to the “western” form of marsh frog in the studied area. The mean ratio of “western” and “eastern” allele frequencies is close to 1:9.