Genetic diversity and conservation of endangered animal species*
Ya-ping Zhang1,**, Xiao-xia Wang1, Oliver A. Ryder2, Hai-peng Li1,
He-ming Zhang3, Yange Yong4, and Peng-yan Wang3
1Laboratory of Molecular Evolution and Genome Diversity,
Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223,
P.R. China; 2Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego, CA 92112, USA;
3Wolong Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda, Sichuan
623006, P.R. China; 4Foping National Nature Reserve, Shanxi 723400,
P.R. China
Abstract: The loss of biodiversity resulting from extinctions
is receiving increasing attention. Over several thousands of animal
species have been evaluated and recognized as endangered species. Inbreeding
depression has been demonstrated in many wild animal species. Here we
sequenced 655-978 bp mitochodrial D-loop region of 32 individuals from
four regional giant panda populations. Sixteen haplotypes were observed.
AMOVE analysis demonstrated that genetic differentiation was not significant
in the overall population, except the Qingling population. The current
panda population may recover from a recent severe bottleneck that occurred
about 43 000 years ago. Combining with our results on two endangered
snub-nosed monkey species and one common hare species, different scenarios
for low genetic variation have been discussed. Our results suggest that
low genetic variation does not necessary result from a recent bottleneck,
and it is not necessarily an indication of the level of endangerment.
* Lecture presented at the 3rd IUPAC International
Conference on Biodiversity (ICOB-3), Antalya, Turkey, 3-8 November 2001.
Other presentations are presented in this issue, pp. 511584.
** Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
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