Genetic Diversity within Scorpio Genus (Scorpion: Scorpionidae) from Iran: Preliminary Evidence based on ۱۶srRNA Sequence

The yellow digger scorpion, Scorpio maurus, is a medically important scorpion for which little is known about its genetic diversity. Polymerase chain reaction products of ۱۶srRNA gene fragments were generated from scorpion specimens named SmKh۱ and SmKh۲. These sequences showed high similarity with the only partial sequence of S. maurus isolate SCA۱ large subunit ribosomal RNA gene available in the Genbank database. The drawing of the phylogeny tree showed two clusters, A and B. The two specimens (SmKh۱ and SmKh۲), which are placed in sub-cluster A۲, were provided from Behbahan, Iran, and they have the closest relationship with the only sequence of S. maurus (MW۲۸۱۷۷۱), which is also collected from Behbahan. It is noteworthy that the two sequences obtained from S. maurus scorpions recorded from Miandoab (MK۱۷۰۴۴۴) and Mahabad (KU۷۰۵۳۵۴), which are in sub-cluster A۱, are more similar to the scorpions isolated from the Mediterranean basin than those collected from Behbahan. This issue is probably due to the fact that patterns of genetic diversity are a reflection of variation in gene flow, which is also influenced by factors such as territorial barriers and geographical distances. We conclude that the scorpions of this study accompanied by similar scorpions in the Mediterranean basin, belong to the same species despite the insignificant differences.

Keywords:

۱۶srRNA , phylogeny tree , Scorpio maurus