Scientific Annals of the Danube Delta Institute (Oct 2007)
Genetic comparison of Moldavian Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii moldavica) populations of the Danube-Delta
Abstract
During 2002, 2003 and 2005, we managed to examine 101 meadow vipers (Vipera ursinii) from two different populations in the Romanian Danube-Delta. We examined 42 animals from population near Sfântu-Gheorge and 59 individuals from Periteasca: 56 males (55.5%) and 45 females (44.5%). Fifteen of the observed were juvenile (14.9%), 16 of them were subadult (15.8%) and 70 were adult (69.3%). We recorded several morphometric data on every animal and we collected blood-samples from 48 adult individuals: 18 samples from Sfântu -Gheorge (10 males, 8 females) and 30 from Periteasca (14 males, 16 females), for genetic analysis using RAPD and microsatellite markers. We included 27 morphological characters, 68 polymorphic alleles (7-17 bands per primer) found with 14 decamer RAPD primers and 39 alleles found at 4 microsatellite loci (4-18 alleles per locus). The average similarity was 46% based on morphological data, while 67% based on RAPD results, with no significant differencesbetween the two populations. The average heterozigosity was 75% in the Periteasca population and 68% in the Sfântu- Gheorge population. PCA plots based on the RAPD band presence/absence binary matrix and on the microsatellite genotypic distances of the individuals differentiated the samples mainly according to their origin; however, plots of 27 morphological characters formed slightly mixed groups. According to the genotypic differences, 13-17 % of the genetic variability was divided between the populations.
