Revisiting the taxonomy of the Rattini tribe: a phylogeny-based delimitation of species boundaries

We used the DNA sequence information itself as the primary information source to establish group membership and estimate putative species boundaries. We sequenced two mitochondrial and one nuclear genes from 122 rat samples to perform phylogenetic reconstructions. The method of Pons and colleagues (2006) that determines, with no prior expectations, the locations of ancestral nodes defining putative species was then applied to our dataset. To give an appropriate name to each cluster recognized as a putative species, we reviewed information from the literature and obtained sequences from a museum holotype specimen following the ancient DNA criteria.Using a recently developed methodology, this study succeeds in refining the taxonomy of one of the most difficult groups of mammals. Most of the species expected within the area were retrieved but new putative species limits were also indicated, in particular within Berylmys and Rattus genera, where future taxonomic studies should be directed. Our study lays the foundations to better investigate rodent-born diseases in South East Asia and illustrates the relevance of evolutionary studies for health and medical sciences.Among mammals, rodents are recognized as major hosts and vectors of parasites and pathogens, some of them causing important zoonoses and representing a serious threat for human health [1-5]. Most epidemiological studies have focused on the most common rodents with emphasis on commensal species such as the laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus. A common assumption is that the rodent species responsible for disease transmission are those living close to humans, but since wild species distant from human settlements have been proven to play a key role in maintaining, spreading and transmitting pathogens and parasites (e.g. [4]), this point of view is being questionned. Specific diversity within the host community has also been shown to play an important function in the maintenance of a disease and in the probability