DNA Barcodes Reveal High Genetic Diversity in Philippine Fruit Bats.

Fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae is the third largest family in the order Chiroptera. There are 26 recorded species in the Philippines, 17 of which are endemic to the country. However, the number of species in the archipelago may still be underestimated. With the growing threats to biodiversity and dwindling number of taxonomists, DNA barcodes can assist with the problem by providing an accurate, rapid, and effective method of species recognition. To contribute to the barcoding endeavor and determine the diversity of Philippine fruit bats, a 542-base-pair portion of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was sequenced from 111 individuals belonging to 19 pteropodid species. A neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) tree was generated using the sequences in this study and other available sequences in Genbank and Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). DNA barcodes were effective in delineating Philippine species. Closer inspection of the NJ tree revealed distinct [> 6% mean Kimura-2-parameter (K2P) distance] Philippine lineages for Macroglossus minimus, Rousettus amplexicaudatus, Megaerops wetmorei, and Cynopterus brachyotis relative to conspecifics from Southeast Asia. Between-island differentiation was also observed for the Philippine endemic Haplonycteris fischeri (> 7% mean between-island K2P distance). From this study, these species may be flagged for taxonomic reevaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]