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Neutral and Adaptive Genetic Variation in Indian Snow Leopards, Panthera uncia


Affiliations
1 Oceanographic Research Institute, South African Association for Marine Biological Research, 1 King Shaka Avenue, Point, Durban 4001 KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
2 Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, Zoology, University Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany
3 Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annexe I, Attapur Ring Road, Hyderabad 500 048, India
4 CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India
5 Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201 002, India
 

In this study, we reveal patterns of genetic variation in snow leopards (Panthera uncia) by combining neutral (mtDNA, microsatellites) and adaptive (MHC II-DRB) genes. We collected 56 faecal samples from three locations in India. We observed moderate levels of microsatellite diversity (N = 32; A = 5.6; HO = 0.559). Nine unique MHC II-DRB sequences were identified in four snow leopard samples, of which 8 were novel. We found low levels of polymorphism in MHC class II-DRB exon, which was higher in captive (VA = 9.4%) compared to wild individuals (VA = 7.8%), likely as a result of a population bottleneck

Keywords

Adaptive Evolution, Balancing Selection, Captive Breeding, Genetic Diversity, Major Histocompatibility Complex.
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  • Neutral and Adaptive Genetic Variation in Indian Snow Leopards, Panthera uncia

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Authors

Tirupathi Rao Golla
Oceanographic Research Institute, South African Association for Marine Biological Research, 1 King Shaka Avenue, Point, Durban 4001 KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Laura Tensen
Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, Zoology, University Koblenz-Landau, Koblenz, Germany
Vipin
Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annexe I, Attapur Ring Road, Hyderabad 500 048, India
Kesav Kumar
Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Annexe I, Attapur Ring Road, Hyderabad 500 048, India
Satish Kumar
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500 007, India
Ajay Gaur
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201 002, India

Abstract


In this study, we reveal patterns of genetic variation in snow leopards (Panthera uncia) by combining neutral (mtDNA, microsatellites) and adaptive (MHC II-DRB) genes. We collected 56 faecal samples from three locations in India. We observed moderate levels of microsatellite diversity (N = 32; A = 5.6; HO = 0.559). Nine unique MHC II-DRB sequences were identified in four snow leopard samples, of which 8 were novel. We found low levels of polymorphism in MHC class II-DRB exon, which was higher in captive (VA = 9.4%) compared to wild individuals (VA = 7.8%), likely as a result of a population bottleneck

Keywords


Adaptive Evolution, Balancing Selection, Captive Breeding, Genetic Diversity, Major Histocompatibility Complex.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv125%2Fi2%2F204-209