Phylogenetic study of Sumatran Microhyla heymonsi Vogt, 1911 (Anura: Microhylidae) based on 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene

Abstract

Microhyla heymonsi is a species that has a very wide distribution, ranging from Taiwan, China, India, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, to Sumatra. Species with a very wide distribution often contain cryptic species due to the geographical barrier resulting in reproductive isolation, gene mutation, and evolution. This study aims to determine the phylogenetic relationship between M. heymonsi species from Sumatra and outside Sumatra, as well as the value of genetic distance between the two groups of species. The genetic distance threshold as a species delimitation is 3 %. DNA sequences were obtained through the process of DNA barcoding and then phylogenetic studies were performed through analysis of Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmatic Mean, Neighborhood Joining, Maximum Likelihood, and Bayesian Inference. The results show that the M. heymonsi species from Sumatra form a large single clade on the phylogenetic tree of all analytical methods with significant bootstrap values. The genetic distance value of M. heymonsi Sumatra with M. heymonsi Singapore and Malaysia is still below 3 %. The genetic distance values between M. heymonsi Sumatra and M. heymonsi Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and China have exceeded 3 %.