Abstract
South Korea is home to two Mauremysspecies: M. sinensis and M. reevesii. M. sinensis is an invasive alien species, whereas M. reevesii is a legally protected species endemic to South Korea. The sympatric distributions of these species and their hybrids have recently been identified in South Korea, posing a serious threat to the conservation of M. reevesii. Therefore, we developed a genotyping marker for high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis that targets the intron I region of the nuclear R35 gene to facilitate the rapid identification of hybrids. Three distinct HRM curves, representing M. reevesii, M. sinensis, and their hybrids, were obtained. These results were identical to those observed for R35, with the hybrid possessing both alleles. This demonstrates that HRM markers can effectively distinguish Mauremysspecies from their hybrids. The present study provides a valuable tool for rapid and accurate identification of hybrids for future monitoring.