Electrophoresis for isoenzymes and SDS-proteins were applied to investigate the genetic differentiation among the populations of the agamid spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx ornata philbyi inhabit the South Western Saudi Arabia. Samples were selected from four localities of Taif, Wadi-Fatimah near Makkah, Al-Baha and Jazan. A range of 13 to 19 protein bands were recorded in the pattern of the studied populations as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, from which eight were common. The similarity coefficient that was calculated according to the number of sharing bands was found to be 0.69 between Al-Baha and Jazan populations, 0.63 between Al-Baha and Taif-Wadi Fatimah populations and 0.58 between Taif-Wadi Fatimah and Jazan populations. Six arbitrary chosen enzymes were examined by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. They were peroxidase (Px), Aldehyde oxidase (Ao), acid phosphatase (Acph), Alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh), α and β esterase (Est). Thirteen presumptive gene loci and twenty three heterogeneous alleles have been recorded. Monomeric, dimeric and trimeric alleles were identified in the studied samples. Adh and β Est-2 discriminated clearly among the studied populations. The dimeric alleles of Adh-2 was characteristic to the population of Al-Baha. Adh-1 was trimeric in both Al-Baha and Taif-Wadi Fatimah populations but it was dimeric in Jazan population. β Est-2 recorded trimeric alleles in Taif-Wadi Fatimah population and dimeric alleles in Jazan population and only one dimeric sample has been identified in Al-Baha population. The constructed tree based on the sharing protein bands and isozyme alleles has discriminated the populations of U. o. philbyi into two genetic groups: the cluster of Al-Baha and Jazan west to Sarawat Mountains and group of Taif east to Sarawat Mountains. This result indicated that the situation of U. o. philbyi as endangered taxon could be categorized in Appendix I of Cites convention instead of Appendix II. Further investigation, on the DNA level, for more samples of this subspecies and its sympatric subspecies U. o. ornata should be undergone.
Key words: Biochemistry, genetic, Uromastyx ornata philbyi, KSA
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