Abstract:We used four microsatellite loci (Fca08, Fca45, Fca77 and Fca96) from the domestic cat, Felis catus, to investigate genetic variability in specimens of Herpailurus yagouaroundi (jaguarundi, otter cat, eyra), Puma concolor (cougar, mountain lion, puma) and Panthera onca (jaguar) held in various Brazilian zoos. Samples of DNA from the cats were PCR amplified and then sequenced before being analyzed using the CERVUS program. Our results show a mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.83 for H. yagouaround… Show more
“…PIC values higher than 0.5 indicate high polymorphism, and markers with this level of polymorphism are highly informative for genetic studies (Moreno et al, 2006). In this study, the total average PIC was 0.470, or relatively close to 0.5, which verified that the 18 microsatellite markers used were useful for studying the genetic relationships and genetic diversities among the rabbit populations in Taiwan.…”
Section: Genetic Variation and Intra-population Diversitysupporting
Laboratory rabbits used in Taiwan are primarily supplied by the Livestock Research Institute (LRI) and the Animal Drugs Inspection Branch (ADIB) of the Animal Health Research Institute. An analysis of the genetic characteristics and structure of these populations would thus be a fundamental step in building a long-term management programme for maintaining stable animal quality and preserving the genetic variation among the populations. In this study, DNA samples were isolated from founders of 5 populations: New Zealand White rabbits (NZW) and Japanese White rabbits (JPN) from the ADIB, NZW and Rex rabbits (REX) from the LRI, and NZW from a private rabbit breeding farm in Ban Ciao (BC). A set of microsatellite markers, 18 in total, was designed for genetic analysis. The average values for the allele number (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (H E ), and Wright's fixation index (F IS ) were 5.50, 2.437, 0.442, 0.568 and 0.232, respectively. These results revealed that this set of microsatellite markers has high diversity and that the major local populations have a tendency toward inbreeding. At the same time, analysis of molecular variance results showed that the laboratory rabbits used in Taiwan have maintained a high level of within-population genetic differentiation (83%). The genetic differentiation among clusters was moderate (F ST =0.18), and Bayesian cluster analysis showed that the most likely number of groups was 4 (K=4). Principal component analysis (PCA) also showed 4 divergent clusters. The LRI and BC NZW populations were not separated when K=4 was used in a Structure software analysis and were also hard to split until principal component 3 in PCA. The individual unrooted phylogenetic tree showed that the 5 populations were separated, except that some individuals from the LRI NZW population overlapped with the ADIB NZW and BC NZW populations. As such, in order to counteract the reduced F IS (0.232) and maximise heterozygosity, the 3 NZW populations could be interbred or have new genes introduced into them. The set of microsatellite markers used herein was useful for studying the relationships and genetic diversities among these rabbit populations of Taiwan. Based on the resulting data, rabbit farms in Taiwan could select parental stocks for planned mating in the future as part of strategies to preserve and restore the rational breeding of laboratory rabbits.
“…PIC values higher than 0.5 indicate high polymorphism, and markers with this level of polymorphism are highly informative for genetic studies (Moreno et al, 2006). In this study, the total average PIC was 0.470, or relatively close to 0.5, which verified that the 18 microsatellite markers used were useful for studying the genetic relationships and genetic diversities among the rabbit populations in Taiwan.…”
Section: Genetic Variation and Intra-population Diversitysupporting
Laboratory rabbits used in Taiwan are primarily supplied by the Livestock Research Institute (LRI) and the Animal Drugs Inspection Branch (ADIB) of the Animal Health Research Institute. An analysis of the genetic characteristics and structure of these populations would thus be a fundamental step in building a long-term management programme for maintaining stable animal quality and preserving the genetic variation among the populations. In this study, DNA samples were isolated from founders of 5 populations: New Zealand White rabbits (NZW) and Japanese White rabbits (JPN) from the ADIB, NZW and Rex rabbits (REX) from the LRI, and NZW from a private rabbit breeding farm in Ban Ciao (BC). A set of microsatellite markers, 18 in total, was designed for genetic analysis. The average values for the allele number (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (H E ), and Wright's fixation index (F IS ) were 5.50, 2.437, 0.442, 0.568 and 0.232, respectively. These results revealed that this set of microsatellite markers has high diversity and that the major local populations have a tendency toward inbreeding. At the same time, analysis of molecular variance results showed that the laboratory rabbits used in Taiwan have maintained a high level of within-population genetic differentiation (83%). The genetic differentiation among clusters was moderate (F ST =0.18), and Bayesian cluster analysis showed that the most likely number of groups was 4 (K=4). Principal component analysis (PCA) also showed 4 divergent clusters. The LRI and BC NZW populations were not separated when K=4 was used in a Structure software analysis and were also hard to split until principal component 3 in PCA. The individual unrooted phylogenetic tree showed that the 5 populations were separated, except that some individuals from the LRI NZW population overlapped with the ADIB NZW and BC NZW populations. As such, in order to counteract the reduced F IS (0.232) and maximise heterozygosity, the 3 NZW populations could be interbred or have new genes introduced into them. The set of microsatellite markers used herein was useful for studying the relationships and genetic diversities among these rabbit populations of Taiwan. Based on the resulting data, rabbit farms in Taiwan could select parental stocks for planned mating in the future as part of strategies to preserve and restore the rational breeding of laboratory rabbits.
“…There is extensive information about North American populations of mountain lions (Anderson 1983;Ross and Jalkotzy 1992;Beier 1993;Lindzey et al 1994;Beier 1995;Beier et al 1995;Culver et al 2000;Sweanor et al 2000;Pierce et al 2000;Walker et al 2000;Logan and Sweanor 2001;Riley and Malecki 2001;Ernest et al 2003;Anderson et al 2004;McRae et al 2005;Shaw et al 2007;Culver et al 2008;LaRue and Nielsen 2008;Stoner et al 2008), although little is known about the species in the rest of its range (Mazzolli 1993;Culver et al 2000;Mazzolli et al 2002;Marins-Sá 2005;Moreno et al 2006;Miotto et al 2007;Ruiz-Garcia et al 2009). Southern Brazil is no exception, and little information about mountain lions is available for this region (Mazzolli 1993(Mazzolli , 2006Mazzolli et al 2002;Marins-Sá 2005;Castilho et al, submitted for publication).…”
a b s t r a c tIt is suggested that mountain lions have suffered a bottleneck and lost their genetic diversity in an area in southern Brazil. In this study, we correlated landscape connectivity and patterns of gene flow to identify landscape permeability and possible sources of migrants for the population of mountain lions in southern Brazil, using circuit theory. Population structure was analyzed with Bayesian methods, and density and parentage relationships were also estimated, to evaluate the population genetic profile. We did not find genetic structure between samples, and landscape analysis indicated that all individuals were connected by areas that are permeable to mountain lion movements. The estimated population density was low, 0.09 and 0.32 mountain lions/100 km 2 (N e /N = 0.11 and N e /N = 0.4, respectively). Parentage results indicated that individuals killed in the same spot were not related, suggesting that mountain lions are still able to disperse through the landscape. Evidence indicates that severe habitat loss and consequent illegal hunting were responsible for a bottleneck and consequent loss of genetic variability, we demonstrated that the landscape still allows mountain lions to move, and that protected areas in southern Brazil may be acting as a source of migrants. This information indicates that conservation actions to reduce illegal hunting and to monitor protected areas are important to understand the impact of hunted areas on source areas.
“…Sampling at relatively fine spatial scales can result in spatial autocorrelation among individuals, particularly under common genetic gradients such as isolation‐by‐distance (Hardy and Vekemans ). A subset of our loci (FCA008, 045, 077, 096) were the same used by Moreno et al () for captive jaguarundis, but our estimates of A were much lower ( A = 4.25) than estimates from the captive sample ( A = 10.75; Moreno et al ). However, Moreno et al () sampled 36 zoo animals from 5 different states in Brazil, which may have inflated estimates.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 84%
“…Our objectives were as follows: 1) estimate neutral diversity using microsatellite and mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers, 2) estimate potentially adaptive diversity at a gene associated with melanism (melanocortin‐1 receptor [MC1R]; Eizirik et al ), and 3) provide recommendations on the use of genetic markers for noninvasive studies. Previous genetic work on jaguarundis was limited to captive individuals (Eizirik et al , Moreno et al ). To our knowledge, this study is the first genetic evaluation of free‐ranging jaguarundis, thus providing baseline information.…”
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.