Distribution of VKORC1 mutations and anticoagulant rodenticide resistance in norway rats in Russia
Resistance of Norway rat to anticoagulant rodenticides now occurs in many countries in Europe, America and Asia. Resistance is often associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the VKORC1 gene. This study gives a first overview of the distribution and frequency of VKORC1 SNPs in Norway rat, based on tissue samples from several cities in Russia. No SNPs associated with resistance were found in Kostroma and Chita. We found one of the several previously described mutations Tyr139Ser for VKORC1. This mutation is known to be associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides, and it was found in 29% of the samples from Moscow. All this rats were heterozygous for the Tyr139Ser variant.