Genetic Structure in genus Philautus(Gistel,1848; Family: Rhacophoridae, Order:Anura) along an altitudinal gradient in the Eastern Himalayas

Abstract

We studied the genetic structure within Philautus genus of bush frogs along an altitudinal gradient in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, using a region of 12s-16srRNA gene of the mitochondrial genome. Philautus are the most species rich genus among all Indian amphibians with high phenotypic variation within species. Haplotype analysis reveals three distinct evolutionary lineages with enough genetic divergence to warrant separate species status. Two of these species have little overlap in terms of their altitudinal distribution. Analysis of morphological variations using Discriminant Analysis shows results mostly congruent with the genetic analysis, though the separations between the species is not as clear. Further, all three groups have very little within group genetic diversity, suggesting strong altitude specific mitochondrial selective sweeps that eliminate novel mutations from the mitochondrial genome.