Ahmad Mahmoudi

Urmia University · Department of Biology

Microtus , the most speciose genus in the tribe Arvicolini, inhabits boreal and temperate regions. Despite recent increase in taxonomic research, the precise species diversity of Microtus voles in Iran is still unclear due to insufficient molecular work. This study aimed to identify Microtus species in West Azerbaijan province, near Turkey and Arme...

Background: The control and prevention of rodent-borne diseases are mainly based on our knowledge of ecol-ogy and the infectious status of their reservoir hosts. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Francisellatularensis, Yersinia pestis, and arenavirus infections in small mammals and to assess the potential of diseaseoccurrence in East A...

Plague, a lethal zoonotic disease, primarily circulates within rodent populations and their fleas. In Iran, the widely distributed jird, Meriones persicus , serves as the principal reservoir for plague, with a belief in the existence of five out of its six recognized subspecies within the country. However, these subspecies are classified into four...

Background The causative agent of plague, Yersinia pestis, is maintained in nature via a flea-rodent cycle. Western Iran is an old focus for plague, and recent data indicate that rodents and dogs in this region have serological evidence of Y. pestis infection. The purpose of this study was to conduct a large-scale investigation of Y. pestis infecti...

Tularemia and Q fever are endemic diseases in Iran; however, little information is available on the prevalence of the causative agents, Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis, in Iranian ticks. This study investigated C. burnetii and F. tularensis among hard ticks in this country. We collected ticks from livestock and other mammals in Guilan,...

Due to its faster evolution rate compared to nuclear genes, haploid mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a promising species identification tool. This has led to its significant use in taxonomic and phylogenetic studies. While mtDNA is subject to selective constraints that prevent the accumulation of deleterious mutations, the prevalence of nuclear-mitocho...

Orthohantaviruses are a group of zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe and potentially fatal syndromes in humans. Although orthohantaviruses have been documented in Iran, little is known about their potential reservoirs in the country. The present study constitutes the first attempt to detect orthohantavirus infections in rodents in Iran. Sampli...

Background Plague may recur after several decades in its endemic regions; therefore, the continuous monitoring of wildlife is essential, even when no human cases are reported in the old foci. The present study was conducted to monitor rodents and their ectoparasites as well as carnivores to learn about the epidemiology of plague infection in an old...

The International training course on Rodents and Rodent-borne disease (2018.11.06) was organized by Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging infectious diseases of Pasteur Institute of Iran and by collaboration of Centre for Communicable Diseases Control and Prevention of Iran Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (Geneva), World Health...

Identifying historical drivers of biodiversity distribution patterns is a central issue in ecology and biogeography. Iran is a biodiversity-rich country in southwestern Asia. It is known that past events like climatic oscillations and mountains uplifting have had an outstanding impact on evolution, speciation, and diversification of biodiversity in...

Social voles of the genus Microtus consist of at least eight nominal species occurring in the Western Palearctic. Despite the significant influence of Middle Eastern Geo-climatic heterogeneity on small mammal diversification, this area remains largely unexplored. In this study, we considered mitochondrial cytochrome b phylogeny and chromosomal data...

Although recent molecular data has advocated the distinct position of Arvicola persicus De Filippi from Iran, karyotypic and differential chromosome staining data, informative tools to describe biological diversity, are lacking. Here we present the first description of the chromosome complement of A. persicus from its type locality in Sultaniyeh, s...

Rodent biogeographic studies are disproportionately scarce in Iran, however, they are an ideal system to understand drivers of biodiversity distributions in the country. The aims of the present research are to determine (i) the pattern of rodent richness across the country, (ii) quantify their elevational distribution patterns, and (iii) explore th...

Five-toed jerboas of the subfamily Allactaginae comprise several complex taxa occurring over a wide distribution range covering a large part of the Eurasian arid belt. In this study, we employed current methods of molecular phylogenetics based on 15 nuclear genes and the mitochondrial gene cytb to revise relations and systematics within Allactagina...

We report for the first time the long-tailed nesokia rat, Nesokia bunnii, in Iran. A single female of the rodents killed by a stray dog in the Hoveyzeh marshes was identified as Nesokia bunnii according to its external and craniodental characteristics. With its four pairs of nipples, the collected specimen did not deviate from the condition is seen...

Borrelia persica and B. microti/microti-like borreliae have been established as causative agents of relapsing fever in Iran. However, the epidemiology of previously described tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) species Borrelia balthazardi and Borrelia latyschewii (latychevi) has remained elusive for many years. We investigated Borrelia infection in v...

The current study was undertaken to estimate the morphometric pattern of three commensal rodents, i.e., Mus musculus, Rattus norvegicus, and Rattus rattus in Qatar. One hundred forty-eight rodents were captured from different facilities throughout Qatar. The captured rodents were used to identify the external body and craniomandibular morphometry....

The taxonomy of the genus Calomyscus remains controversial. According to the latest systematics the genus includes eight species with great karyotypic variation. Here, we studied karyotypes of 14 Calomyscus individuals from different regions of Iran and Turkmenistan using a new set of chromosome painting probes from a Calomyscus sp. male (2n = 46,...

Rodents are one of the most diversified terrestrial mammals, and they perform several beneficial activities in nature. These animals are also important as carriers of many pathogens with public health importance. The current systematic review was conducted to formulate a true depiction of rodent-related zoonoses in Qatar. Following systematic searc...

Rodents are one of the most diversified terrestrial mammals, and they perform several beneficial activities in nature. These animals are also important as carriers of many pathogens with public health importance. The current systematic review was conducted to formulate a true depiction of rodent-related zoonoses in Qatar. Following systematic searc...

The formation of hybrid sterility is an important stage of speciation. The voles of the genus Microtus, which is the most speciose genus of rodents, provide a good model for studying the cytological mechanisms of hybrid sterility. The voles of the “mystacinus” group of the subgenus Microtus (2n = 54) comprising several recently diverged forms with...

Background Recent seroepidemiological studies have suggested that tularemia could be an endemic bacterial zoonosis in Iran. Methods From January 2016 to June 2018, disease cases characterized by fever, cervical lymphadenopathy and ocular involvement were reported in Youzband Village of Kaleybar County, in the East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern...

We address in this study the taxonomic status of the two major phylogenetic lineages of fat dormice, genus Glis . These lineages show unique mutations at 43 positions of the cytochrome b alignment and are classified as two distinct species, the European fat dormouse Glis glis (Linnaeus, C. [1766]. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum cl...

Plague has been known since ancient times as a re-emerging infectious disease, causing considerable socioeconomic burden in regional hotspots. To better understand the epidemiological cycle of the causative agent of the plague, its potential occurrence, and possible future dispersion, one must carefully consider the taxonomy, distribution, and ecol...

The Caspian Sea littoral of Iran is home to various hard tick species, including Ixodes ricinus, the notorious vector of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Eurasia. Here, in this area, we examined I. ricinus and other hard ticks, along with common rodents and small mammals for LB and relapsing fever (RF) borreliae infection. Ticks were collected from various...

The karyotypes of four species of jirds of the genus Meriones Illiger, 1811 from Turkey and Iran (M. tristrami, M. persicus, M. vinogradovi and M. libycus) were studied using C-banding and AgNOR staining. The obtained basic karyotype characteristics of the studied species are in agreement with previously published data. Intra-specific variation in...

The subterranean voles of the genus Ellobius are species of subfamily Arvicolinae well adapted to underground life. In this paper, we report the assemblies of complete mitochondrial genomes for three mole voles from genus Ellobius – northern mole vole Ellobius talpinus (16,376 bp), transcaucasian mole vole E. lutescens (16,540 bp), and southern mol...

We reanalyzed 657 base pairs of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) sequences of small five-toed jerboas Scarturus from Iran, which had been published as Allactaga by Mohammadi et al. (2016) in Zoology in the Middle East. We show that taxonomic names are available for the three main clusters they recognized: S. hotsoni, S. elater, and S. toussi. The...

Introduction: Entomological surveys of ectoparasites and their hosts are an essential tool for assessing the risks of rodent-borne diseases transmitted to humans by arthropod vectors. Objectives: This study was carried out to update the epidemiological data of plague with respect to species compositions of the rodents and their ectoparasites at en...

Introduction and purpose: Tularemia is a zoonotic disease, the most important hosts of which are rodents. Endemic regions and reservoirs of F. tularensis are not well-researched areas in Iran. The present study aimed to study F. tularensis infection in the rodent populations of western Iran. Materials and methods: Samples were collected in diffe...

Recent water voles (genus Arvicola ) display a prominent morphological diversity with a strong ecotypical background but with unclear taxonomic associations. We provide a novel synthetic view on the evolutionary history and the current taxonomic richness in the genus. Our molecular reconstruction, based on a 1143-bp-long sequence of cytochrome b an...

Background: Hantaviruses are a group of emerging pathogens causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in human. This study was conducted to investigate Hantavirus infection among Iranian viral hemorrhagic fever suspected patients. Methods: From April 2014 to June 2016, 113 cases from 25 different provin...

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In the present study, occurrence of Hyalomma asiaticum on wild rodents was explored. Rodents were trapped using Sherman traps. The tick specimens were collected by forceps from the rodents. Overall, one larva and 59 nymphs of immature ticks were collected on 23 Meriones persicus from three different locations in western Iran. A 408 bp length fragme...

Climate forcing, which is blamed for the decennial decline in the dynamics of vole populations in Central and Northern Europe, may have similar effects in southern (Mediterranean) Europe, even more so since the region is especially vulnerable to global change. In the absence of population monitoring, we investigated the temporal development and geo...

Introduction: Plague and tularemia are zoonoses and their causative bacteria are circulating in certain regions of Iran. This study was conducted to investigate potential disease reservoirs amongst small wildlife species in different regions of Iran. Methods: Rodents, insectivores and hares from 17 different provinces of the country were collected...

Golunda ellioti Gray, 1837 is an herbivorous monotypic murine with discontinues distribution from Iran in the west up to India in the east. In this study 11 specimens from four localities in southern Iran (Kerman province), were examined based on morphology, karyology and molecular data. Molecular analyses confirmed the position of the genus Golund...

The bicolored shrew Crocidura leucodon consists of two phylogeographic lineages which diverged during the Middle Pleistocene and are roughly separated by the Bosporus Strait at the contact point of Europe and Asia Minor. In this study we analysed mitochondrial cytochrome b genes (1137 bp) of nine shrews from the Caspian region in Iran. Phylogenetic...

Background Rodents are reservoirs and hosts for several zoonotic diseases such as plague, leptospirosis, and leishmaniasis. Rapid development of industry and agriculture, as well as climate change throughout the globe, has led to change or increase in occurrence of rodent-borne diseases. Considering the distribution of rodents throughout Iran, the...

Background Climate condition is expected to have significant in rodents’ diversity and in the seasonal pattern of diseases carried by different rodents. In an effort to aid in the study of the biodiversity of parasites of rodents in different climate zoon we examined climate patterns in the parasite assemblages of different rodents from Mar 2015 to...

The majority of emerging infectious diseases (EID) are caused by zoonotic pathogens. Furthermore, more than 70% of these zoonotic EID are caused by pathogens with a wildlife origin. Mammals are the main source of these findings, and rodents are one of those groups with the high number of new pathogen species. Human plague is primarily a disease of...

Introduction: Rodents are the primary source of several zoonotic infectious diseases. The upsurge of rodents’ population in Najaf Abad Village of Nishapur County, northeastern Iran in February 2014 raised the concerns about the outbreak of diseases such as plague and tularemia. This report discusses the lessons learned from the outburst of rodents’...

The distribution of C-heterochromatin and nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) was studied in three species of voles of the Microtus arvalis group in Iran: M. mystacinus, M. kermanensis, and M. transcaspicus. The C-banding pattern and NORs distribution were similar in M. mystacinus and M. kermanensis suggesting taxonomic proximity of these two specie...

We studied interspecific variability in external, cranial, and dental traits in seven species belonging to two closely related arvicoline (Arvicolinae) subgenera, the social voles (Sumeriomys) and the grey voles (Microtus). These voles were for long regarded as morphologically cryptic and the species complexity was fully appreciated only after chro...

New advances in molecular techniques are substantially reshaping our understanding of taxonomy. However, combining molecular and morphologic data is a prevailing trend towards integral taxonomy. In a genetic frame, two nominal species, Crocidura gmelini and C. suaveolens have recently been lumped into one species. This study aimed to evaluate this...

We studied 1140 base pairs of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene of three samples of small shrews, genus Suncus Ehrenberg, 1832, from Iran. Using previous published data for the genus, phylogenetic trees showed affiliation of the Iranian samples to the Madagascan Pgymy Shrew, Suncus madagascariensis which is the first report of the species for...

Snow voles from Zard Kuh in Zagros Mts., Western Iran, were identified as distinct from the European snow vole Chionomys nivalis and described as a species new to science under the name C. layi Zykov, 2004. This description was missed in subsequent years by majority of authors dealing with the genus Chionomys, and taxonomic identity of the new spec...

Introduction: Kurdistan Province in Iran is a historical focus for plague and tularemia. This study aimed at assessing the current status of these two foci by studying their rodent reservoirs. Materials and methods: Rodents were trapped and their ectoparasites were collected. The genus and species of both rodents and ectoparasites were determine...

Our aim in this study was to further the understanding of the taxonomic relationships and the evolutionary history of grey voles (subgenus Microtus, or arvalis species group) by establishing a cytochrome b (cytb) phylogeny with special emphasis on three species occupying Southwest Asia: Microtus mystacinus (levis is a synonym), Microtus obscurus an...

The most genetically divergent populations of the European snow vole Chionomys nivalis occupy the extreme eastern range of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It was recently suggested that subspecies C. n. spitzenbergerae from the Central Taurus Mountains (Turkey) represents a highly divergent lineage of C. nivalis from the Aladağ Range which induc...

Present study aimed to address molecular diversities of the small five-toed jerboa Allactaga elater Lichtenstein, 1825, and the Toussi jerboa Allactaga toussi Darvish et al., 2008, in marginal geographic distribution of the genus in Iran. The study involved 35 individuals of A. elater and A. toussi, from the east and central parts of Iranian platea...

The phylogeography and subspecific situation of the house mouse

Bristly ground squirrels Xerini are a small rodent tribe of six extant species. Despite a dense fossil record the group was never diverse. Our phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the analysis of cytochrome b gene and including all known species of Xerini, confirms a deep divergence between the African taxa and the Asiatic Spermophilopsis. Genetic...

Background: Francisella tularensis is the causative agents of tularemia. Tularemia has the potential to have high morbidity and mortality. Since the Kurdistan province in the western region of Iran has been the historical foci of tularemia, the aim of this study was to evaluate the current situation of the rodents living in this region regarding th...

Wood mice of the genus Apodemus are widely distributed in Eurasia, with the Eastern Mediterranean being considered as a hotspot. Indeed, numerous species have been documented in Iran, including A. witherbyi, A. hyrcanicus, A. uralensis, A. avicennicus, A. hermonensis, and A. arianus. In this study, 129 specimens were collected from different Irania...

Introduction: Yersinia pestis and Francisella tularensis are the causative agents of plague and tularemia. Diseases caused by these two agents have the potential to have high morbidity and mortality. Since the Kurdistan province in the western region of the country has been the national historical foci for plague and tularemia in Iran, the aim of t...

The concept of species might be interpreted in many different ways. This has impressed both the process of introducing new species and the revision of morphological species classification. According to recent studies, about 65 morphological species have been recognized for the tribe of Arvicolini. However, molecular investigations show that some of...

Abstract. We karyotyped six species of Microtus voles collected along the southern edge of their range in northern and western Iran. Diploid and fundamental numbers were as follows: M. socialis and M. paradoxus 2n = 62, FNa = 60, M. qazvinensis 2n = 54, FNa = 54, M. transcaspicus 2n = 52, FNa = 52, and M. mystacinus (= M. rossiaemeridionalis) 2n =...

The northwest Iran comprises parts of two major biodiversity hotspots; Irano-Anatoli and Caucasus. It is a mountainous transition realm between Caucasus forest in the north, Pontic forest of Turkey in the west and central deserts of Iranian Plateau. This study was designed to determine rodent diversity in northwest Iran. Moreover, corridor and barr...

The Qazvin vole Microtus qazvinensis, an endemic species of Iran, shows an obvious similarity in both morphological and karyological traits to other members of the “guentheri” species group. Such similarities challenge the species status of this taxon. In this study, the relationships of social voles, and in particular M. qazvinensis, were reevalua...

Predatory birds feed mainly on small mammals. They usually swallow their prey and after digesting, the indigestible fur, bones and teeth are regurgitated as compact pellets. The investigation of pellet is an extremely valuable tool for mammalogists. In this study 351 pellets have been collected from the localities including north of khorasan, Zanja...

We studied 1038 bp of cytochrome b gene for social voles from three localities in Iran. The new sequences were compared with the previous published data correspond to eight species of social voles. Our results indicated that new material from west of Iran belong to the two species; M. socialis and M. irani karamani. This finding led to prove more k...

In the context of DNA Barcoding, sequences of standard marker genes for thousands and potentially millions of indi-viduals and species are becoming available, requiring ever more efficient bioinformatic environments and software algorithms for analysis. We here present ExcaliBAR (Extraction, Calcula-tion, Barcoding), a user-friendly software utilit...

The genus Microtus Schrank, 1798 (Rodentia; Arvicolinae) represents one of the richest and widely spread genus in northern hemisphere, although Microtus species highly resemble each other morphologically, but they are often discernable using chromosomal and mitochondrial datasets. It has been demonstrated that Microtus mitochondrial genome evolves...

The 'arvalis' species group belongs to the genus and subgenus Microtus (Rodentia: Arvicolinae), which include four species; M. levis (rossiaemeridionalis), M. transcaspicus, M. arvalis and M. ilaeus. Taxonomy of M. arvalis is so complicated, and represents a complex species that consist of 'arvalis' (western) and 'obscurus' forms (eastern). These t...

Among the rodent specimens deposited in the collections of Rodentology Research Department at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, one specimen of Zarudny’s Jird was found which has been collected from Shirvan, in Northern Khorasan Province, Iran. This species is a new record for the fauna of Iran. The species Meriones zarudnyi Heptner, 1937 was recorde...