Exploring small mammal diversity in Georgia (Sakartvelo) through DNA barcoding

Georgia is part of two biodiversity hotspots, the Caucasus and the Irano-Anatolian, both of which are characterized by high biological diversity and endemism rates. Eighty-one species of small mammals (Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera, Rodentia, and Leporidae) have been recorded in Georgia so far based on morphological identification. However, a comprehensive understanding of small mammal diversity requires integrative taxonomic approaches due to the cryptic nature and sympatric distribution of some taxa. Here, to develop a DNA barcode library, we re-evaluated the small mammal diversity of Georgia.

Samples for DNA studies were collected during the last nine years throughout Georgia. The Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI) region of the mitochondrial genome was barcoded for collected samples, and a DNA barcode library was assembled. As a result, nearly 80% of the known species of Georgian small mammals were covered. Two species, Microtus rossiaemeridionalis (Ognev, 1924) and Myotis tschuliensis (Kuzyakin, 1935), were detected for the first time in Georgia. Furthermore, several problems were identified within the Chiroptera and Rodentia orders, requiring further studies.