[Decorative forms of hamsters Phodopus (Mammalia, Cricetinae): an analysis of genetic lines distribution and peculiarities of hair changes].

: Three species of dwarf hamsters (genus Phodopus, family Cricetidae) inhabit some regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China, each having quite extensive range. In recent decades, the dwarf hamsters became widely spread all over the world, initially as laboratory animals and later as popular pets. By now, there is lot of decorative breed lines and colored forms of these animals. Comparison of mtDNA nucleotide sequences of dwarf hamsters acquired in pet shops of some countries in Europe, South-East Asia and North America with distribution of mtDNA haplotypes within natural ranges showed the limitation of decorative line founders' points of origin by one region for each of the species. All haplotypes found in decorative Dzungarian hamsters (Ph. sungorus) purchased ounside Russia coincide with or are significantly close to haplotypes spread in the southern part of West Siberia (Russia) and adjacent regions of Kazakhstan; haplotypes of decorative Campbell's hamster (Ph. campbelli) belong to haplogroup of this species natural populations inhabiting South Tyva (Russia); and all studied decorative Desert hamsters (Ph. roborovskii) had one hapotype specific for South-Eastern Kazakhstan. The review of the history of researches on dwarf hamsters biology allows to determine delivery of hamsters from mentioned regions to scientific laboratories and zoos by certain expeditions and/or researchers. Unlike hamsters with natural hair color, the colored hamsters have no normal hair. Their hair is dull and straggly. The hair differentiation (presence of different hair types and their size characteristics) gets broken and results in deformation, bending, and splitting of the shaft, cracks in cuticle, change of configuration and location of medulla, uneven development of cortex. It is assumed that these destructive changes are associated with genetic characteristics of these hamsters' colored forms.