Forest fragmentation causes an isolated population of the golden takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi Thomas, 1911) (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in the Qinling Mountains (China).

Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi is a rare animal uniquely distributed in the Qinling Mountains (China). Human disturbance and habitat fragmentation have directly affected the survival of B. t. bedfordi. It is urgent to clarify the genetic diversity and genetic structure of the B. t. bedfordi population and implement effective conservation measures. In this study, 20 new polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated by Illumina sequencing. The genetic diversity and population structure of 124 B. t. bedfordi individuals from three populations (Niubeliang population, Zhouzhi population, and Foping population) were analysed according to these 20 microsatellite loci. Our results indicated that B. t. bedfordi had a low level of genetic variability and that there was inbreeding in the three populations. The population genetic structure analyses showed that the Niubeliang population had a trend of differentiation from other populations. National roads can affect population dispersal, while ecological corridors can promote population gene exchange. None of the three B. t. bedfordi populations experienced bottleneck effects. For conservation management plans, the Zhouzhi population and Foping population should be considered one management unit, and the Niubeliang population should be considered another management unit. We suggest building an ecological corridor to keep the habitat connected and formulating tourism management measures to reduce the influence of human disturbance on B. t. bedfordi.

Application of microsatellite technology in the genetic structure analysis of NIH mice / 中国比较医学杂志

Objective To compare and analyze the genetic structure of NIH mice bred in Unites A and B, using microsatellite technology.Methods Thirty SPF 8-week old outbred NIH mice (half male and half female) of each population were randomly chosen from the Units A and B, respectively.PCR amplification and STR scan were performed to determine the genetic characteristics of two outbred populations using microsatellite loci, and the population genetic structure was analyzed with statistical software Popgene 1.32.Results In the NIH mouse population form the Unit A, 74 alleles were obtained, with an average heterozygosity of 0.3108 and polymorphism information content of 0.2637.In the NIH mouse population from the Unit B, 76 alleles were obtained, with an average heterozygosity of 0.3257 and polymorphism information content of 0.2777.The inter-population comparison showed that genetic differentiation coefficient Fst was 0.3932, the genetic identity was 0.3971, and the genetic distance was 0.9235.The population difference was significant.Conclusions There is serious genetic differentiation between the two NIH mice populations,resulting in the formation of two different closed populations.

Isolation and characterization of 15 new microsatellite markers in Oncomelania hupensis, the snail intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in mainland China.

Oncomelania hupensis is the unique intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, which plays a key role during the transmission of schistosomiasis. It is mainly found in the Yangtze River valley and mountains or hills in southwest China. In this paper, we described 15 new microsatellite makers in O. hupensis. Polymorphism of each locus was assessed in 80 individuals from four wild populations (n = 20 per population). The number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to 29, with an average of 15.8. The observed (H(O)) and expected (H(E)) heterozygosities varied from 0.397 to 0.851 and from 0.696 to 0.948, respectively. These microsatellite markers will be useful for population genetic studies and genome mapping in O. hupensis.