Genetic characterization and phylogenetic study of Indonesian cuscuses from Maluku and Papua Island based on 16S rRNA gene

Vet World Vol.13 November-2020 Article-3

Research Article

Veterinary World, 13(11): 2319-2325

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.2319-2325

Rini Widayanti¹, Richo Apriladi Bagas Pradana¹, Rony Marsyal Kunda², and Suhendra Pakpahan³

1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
2. Biology Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Pattimura, Ambon, Indonesia.
3. Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong, West Java, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Indonesian cuscuses are now becoming scarce because of the reduction of habitat and poaching. Further, molecular characterization of Indonesian cuscuses is still very lacking. This study aimed to determine genetic markers and phylogenetic relationships of Indonesian cuscuses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences.

Materials and Methods: This study used 21 cuscuses caught from two provinces and 16 islands: 13 from Maluku and eight from Papua. Cuscus samples were taken by biopsy following ethics guidelines for animals. The genome isolation was done using gSYNC DNA Mini Kit (Geneaid Biotech Ltd., Taiwan). The 16S rRNA gene was amplified by primers (16SKUSAF and 16SKUSAR), and the polymerase chain reaction product obtained was 1875 base pair (bp). The analysis of genetic characterization and the phylogenetic relationship was performed using MEGA version X software (https://www. megasoftware.net/).

Results: 16S rRNA gene sequencing attained 1598 bp for all samples. Based on the 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences, cuscuses from Papua and Maluku belong to the genus Phalanger and Spilocuscus. Phalanger spp. and Spilocuscus spp. from Papua can be distinguished from Phalanger and Spilocuscus from Maluku, except Spilocuscus from Ternate has a very close relationship with cuscus from Sentani, Papua.

Conclusion: Indonesian cuscuses were derived into two clades based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, one group to genus Phalanger and another group to Spilocuscus. Keywords: Indonesian cuscuses, Maluku, Papua, Phalanger, phylogeny, Spilocuscus.

Keywords: Indonesian cuscuses, Maluku, Papua, Phalanger, phylogeny, Spilocuscus.

How to cite this article: Widayanti R, Pradana RAB, Kunda RM, Pakpahan S (2020) Genetic characterization and phylogenetic study of Indonesian cuscuses from Maluku and Papua Island based on 16S rRNA gene, Veterinary World, 13(11): 2319-2325.

Received: 04-06-2020 Accepted: 22-09-2020 Published online: 04-11-2020

Corresponding author: Suhendra Pakpahan E-mail: suhendrapakpahan@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.2319-2325

Copyright: Widayanti, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.