Genetic variation in domestic and wild elk (Cervus elaphus)1

Abstract

Elk (Cervus elaphus) have recently been established as domestic livestock derived from extant wild populations and may provide insights into changes in genetic variation during domestication. We compared genetic variation at 10 microsatellite DNA loci and the mitochondrial DNA D-loop in 2 herds of domestic elk in Alaska and Canada and wild elk from 8 locations in western North America and Asia. Average individual heterozygosity was 0.55 in domestic elk and 0.47 in wild elk, average number of alleles per locus was 4.1 in domestic elk and 3.9 in wild elk, and 4 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were observed in domestic elk and 3 in wild elk. Levels of genetic variation were not significantly different among the domestic elk and wild elk we analyzed. Our results are consistent with other studies showing that genetic variation can be maintained in domestic and wild populations of elk and other deer with appropriate management.

Use of femur bone density to segregate wild from farmed Dybowski's frog (Rana dybowskii)

“…Ultimately, distinct genetic divergence has been observed between domesticated animals and their wild conspecifics [15,16]. Unlike fully domesticated animals, most farmed wildlife are under a cultivative process and show none or only very slight genetic divergence from their wild counterparts [17,18]. Therefore, it is often impossible to distinguish the wild from the captive populations by using genetic markers.…”

Genetic shifts in the transition from wild to farmed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population

“…Cronin et al (1995Cronin et al ( , 2003Cronin et al ( , 2006 have directed their efforts to determining the effects of wildlife ranching or 'domestication' on the genetic composition of different deer species. They consider the selection and reduction of populations under domestication a risk factor for genetic variability loss because of founder effects, genetic drift, and selection in populations with small effective sizes (Cronin et al 2009). However, some of their results have shown that genetic variation can be maintained in specific domestic and wild populations (e.g., elk) with appropriate management, and the same might be assumed for other deer species.…”

Genetic Characterization of Albanian Sheep Breeds by Microsatellite Markers

“…Microsatellites are used, in livestock species for estimating genetic variation within and among breeds (Buchanan et al, 1994;Cronin et al, 2009;Diez-Tascon et al, 2000a;Dowling et al, 2008;Schmid et al, 1999;Saitbekova et al, 1999), for admixture studies (Alvarez et al, 2004;Freeman et al, 2004Freeman et al, , 2006MacHugh et al, 1997;Vicente et al, 2008) and for assigning individuals to breeds (Baumung et al, 2006;Cornuet et al, 1999;Maudet et al, 2002;Meadows et al, 2006;Troy et al, 2001). …”