Rivers may hinder population migration and promote genetic differentiation of terrestrial animals. Most studies testing the riverine barrier hypothesis have yielded positive results,while very few studies do not support this hypothesis. In this study,384 Asian house rats( Rattus tanezumi) were collected from Yunnan,China. By combined use of the sequence markers of mitochondrial( mtDNA) and nuclear( IRBP),the influence of five local rivers on the population genetics of R. tanezumi was tested. A total of 81 m...