MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF THE GENUS NEOTOMA BASED ON DNA SEQUENCES FROM INTRON 2 OF THE ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE GENE.

Phylogenetic relationships were evaluated among 13 species of Neotoma based on DNA sequences from intron 2 of the nuclear alcohol dehydrogenase gene 1 (Adh1-I2). Sequences were analyzed using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods. Three major clades (I-III) consistently were recovered and relationships among taxa within 2 of the clades remained unchanged between analyses; however, relationships within clade III were largely unresolved. Average genetic divergence values were 2.12% among species, 4% between subgenera (Teonoma and Neotoma), and 5.1% between genera (Hodomys and Neotoma). Adh1-I2 sequences were concatenated with mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences generated from the same individuals. Examination of the combined data resulted in a phylogeny whose topology was similar to that based only on cytochrome-b sequences.