Genetic diversity and structure of mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) populations in fragmented habitats

BACKGROUND

The Mongolian gazelle (Procapra gutturosa) population has shown a considerable range of contractions and local extinctions over the last century, owing to habitat fragmentation and poaching. A thorough understanding of the genetic diversity and structure of Mongolian gazelle populations in fragmented habitats is critical for planning effective conservation strategies.

RESULT

In this study, we used eight microsatellite loci and mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cytb) to compare the levels of genetic diversity and genetic structure of Mongolian gazelle populations in the Hulun Lake National Nature Reserve (HLH) with those in the China-Mongolia border area (BJ). The results showed that the nucleotide diversity and observed heterozygosity of the HLH population were lower than those of the BJ population. Moreover, the HLH and BJ populations showed genetic differentiation. We concluded that the HLH population had lower genetic diversity and a distinct genetic structure compared with the BJ population.

CONCLUSION

The genetic diversity of fragmented Mongolian gazelle populations, can be improved by protecting these populations while reinforcing their gene exchange with other populations. For example, attempts can be made to introduce new individuals with higher genetic diversity from other populations to reduce inbreeding.

Species dilemma of musk deer (Moschus spp) in India: molecular data on cytochrome c oxidase I suggests distinct genetic lineage in Uttarakhand compared to other Moschus species

Musk deer are of high conservation priority owing to poaching pressure because of its musk pod. Representation of musk deer status using genetics is poorly documented in India, and it is not confirmed as to how many species of musk deer are present. We characterize for the first time, the genetic diversity of musk deer from Uttarakhand using Cytochrome Oxidase sub-unit (COI) gene (486 bp) and compared with the data available for other species. Results revealed the presence of six haplotypes in the Uttarakhand population amongst 17 sequences. Of these, 12 sequences shared the single haplotype. The intra-species sequences divergence was 0.003-0.017, whereas divergence with other species of musk deer was 0.071-0.081. Bayesian phylogenetic tree revealed that samples from Uttarakhand formed a separate clade with respect to other species of musk deer, whereas three species distributed in China clustered in the same clade and showed low sequences divergence, i.e., 0.002-0.061. Because of different ecomorph reported, we suggest using the barcoding based approach for inter and intra-species distinction and delineating species boundaries across the range for effective conservation. Besides, systematic classification, DNA barcoding would also help in dealing wildlife offence cases for disposal of the legal report in court.

Yangtze River, an insignificant genetic boundary in tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus): the evidence from a first population genetics study

Great rivers were generally looked at as the geographical barrier to gene flow for many taxonomic groups. The Yangtze River is the third largest river in the world, and flows across South China and into the East China Sea. Up until now, few studies have been carried out to evaluate its effect as a geographical barrier. In this study, we attempted to determine the barrier effect of the Yangtze River on the tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) using the molecular ecology approach. Using mitochondrial DNA control region (CR) sequences and 13 nuclear microsatellite loci, we explored the genetic structure and gene flow in two adjacent tufted deer populations (Dabashan and Wulingshan populations), which are separated by the Yangtze River. Results indicated that there are high genetic diversity levels in the two populations, but no distinguishable haplotype group or potential genetic cluster was detected which corresponded to specific geographical population. At the same time, high gene flow was observed between Wulingshan and Dabashan populations. The tufted deer populations experienced population decrease from 0.3 to 0.09 Ma BP, then followed by a distinct population increase. A strong signal of recent population decline (T = 4,396 years) was detected in the Wulingshan population by a Markov-Switching Vector Autoregressions(MSVAR) process population demography analysis. The results indicated that the Yangtze River may not act as an effective barrier to gene flow in the tufted deer. Finally, we surmised that the population demography of the tufted deer was likely affected by Pleistocene climate fluctuations and ancient human activities.

Genetic diversity of captive forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) inferred from the mitochondrial DNA control region

Forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) were once distributed widely in China. However, wild populations have declined dramatically because of poaching and habitat loss. Captive breeding populations have been established for several decades, but the genetic backgrounds of most captive populations were unclear and the population sizes increased very slowly. To provide useful information for conservation and management of this species, we investigated the genetic diversity and population structure of forest musk deer by analysing a 582-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) in three captive breeding populations in Sichuan Province, China. Ninety-four variable sites and 27 haplotypes were observed in 109 individuals, and the nucleotide and haplotype diversities were relatively high compared with those of other endangered mammals. Of the three investigated populations, the Maerkang population had the highest nucleotide diversity (pi=0.0568), haplotype diversity (h=0.836) and average intra-population genetic distance (0.062). The analysis of molecular variance demonstrated that most variation occurred within samples and that there was significant differentiation of the three populations. Estimates of gene flow indicated that there were few genetic exchanges among the three populations. Building pedigree records and increasing gene flow between populations will be helpful for conserving these populations and this species.