Genetic Diversity of Hottentotta Zagrosensis and H. saulcyi (Scorpions: Buthidae) using RAMS (Random Amplified Microsatellites) in Khuzestan

Scorpions belong to the Buthidae family have several genera in the World.  One of the genuses is Hottentotta which is located in Iran. There is no phylogenetic data regarding to this scorpion, in spite of its medical importance. Ten scorpion samples of Hottentotta Zagrosensis and H. saulcyi were collected from different regions of Khuzestan province in Iran. The molecular phylogenetic analysis was carried out using RAMS (Random Amplified Microsatellites) and PCR-RFLP. Of the 6 RAMS primers, that were checked, P-CCA generated 78 sufficiently clear and reproducible bands. The band sizes from 20 scorpion samples ranged from 200-1000 bp. The percentages of the polymorphic and monomorphic bands are 94.8 and 5.2%, respectively. After band score calculations, the similarity level was measured using the Dice coefficient, and denderogram were obtained by the UPGMA algorithms.  The results show that the scorpions within the Hottentotta genus has been grouped in two species H. zagrosensis and H. saulcyi with mean percentage of shared bands 65% and 60%, respectively. Two scorpion samples from Dezful (HZ9 and HS5) are significantly dissimilar within their groups. This result was confirmed by PCR-EFLP. Denderogram results for scorpions in Hottentotta genus located in the Khuzestan showed intraspecies genetic diversity. This study shows RAMS primers could be useful tools to assess genetic diversity in Huttentotta scorpions in Khuzestan.