Weak Population Genetic Differentiation of the Edible Dormouse (Glis glis) in the Stolowe Mountains in Poland

The edible dormouse (Glis glis) is a nocturnal rodent with an arboreal life style occurring mostly in deciduous forests in middle and southern Europe. In Poland it is rare and protected species. In the last century this mammal disappeared from many regions of our country.

The aim of the study was searching for genetic structure of the edible dormouse  living in the Stolowe Mountains (south-west Poland). Individuals (n = 70) were sampled at four sites. Total genomic DNA was extracted from hair. Molecular study involved two types of markers: nuclear DNA (8 microsatellites) and mitochondrial DNA (fragment of cytochrome b of approximately 800 bp in length). For all loci the number of alleles (n_a), the observed (H_O) and expected (H_E) heterozygosities were computed. Inbreeding coefficients (F_IS) were estimated to indicate the within population heterozygote deficiency due to non random mating.

Our results show an exceptional genetic homogeneity of the studied population of Glis glis. This may indicate that the Stolowe Mountains’ edible dormouse population is genetically isolated with no gene flow between neighboring populations. Further studies including edible dormouse populations living in the regions neighboring to the Stolowe Mountains are needed to discover in detail the reason of low genetic diversity of the studied population.