Mobilizing biosciences for Africa’s development  

Influencing decisions

Genomic  Characteriza/on  of  Walia  Ibex  (Capra  walie  ):  An  Endangered  Species  Endemic  to  Ethiopia      

This  document  is  licensed  for  use  under  a  Crea3ve  Commons  A6ribu3on-­‐Noncommercial-­‐Share  Alike  3.0  Unported  License                May  2013    

Expected outputs  

1.  Generate  informa/on  that  help  strengthen  conserva/on  measures  for  the  endangered  species,  Walia  ibex  

2.  Recommend  special  conserva/on  measures  for  popula/ons  with  rare  alleles  and  high  inbreeding  values  

 

Solomon  Benor,  Morris  Agaba  and  Tadelle  Dessie  

Delivering science

Introduc3on  Walia   ibex   (Capra   walie)   is   an   endemic   species   of   ibex   in   Ethiopia,   restricted   to   the   Simien   Mountains.  Morphologically,    it  is  similar  to  the  geographically  adjacent  species,  Nubian  ibex.  The  popula/on  size  of  Walia  ibex  has  drama/cally  declined  and  it  is  included  in  the  IUCN  Red-­‐list  as  a  cri/cally  endangered  species  since  1996.          It  is  a  common  prac/ce  that  farmers,  within  and  in  the  surrounding  areas  of  the  Simien  Mountain  Na/onal  Park,  are  engaged   in   a  mixed   crop-­‐livestock   ac/vi/es.   However,   the   agricultural   ac/vity   and   occurrence   of   goat   husbandry  within  the  Walia  ibex’s  adapta/on  area  are  raising  fears  that  hybridiza/on  might  have  occurred  between  these  two  Capra   species.   This   necessitates   a   further   research   at   molecular   level   which   helps   to   address   the   following  objec/ves.    Objec3ves    •  To  inves/gate  poten/al  for  introgression  of  genes  between  Walia  ibex  and  domes/c  goat    •  To  assess  gene/c  diversity  and  popula/on  structure  of  Walia  ibex    •  To  infer  the  phylogene/c    posi/on  of  Walia  ibex    and  inves/gate    evolu/on  in  the  Capra  genome    Methodology    •  Next-­‐genera/on   sequencing   plaXorm   (Genotyping   by   sequencing)   will   be   employed   to   inves/gate   genomic  

diversity  in  Walia  ibex,  test  the  introgression  hypothesis  with  domes/cated  goat,  and  infer  the  evolu/on  of  Capra  genome.  

                                           

1.  Address  the  hypothesis  on  hybridiza/on  between  Walia  ibex  and  domes/cated  goat  

2.  Inves/gate  current  levels  of  heterozygosity  ,  allelic  diversity  and  rare  alleles  in  Walia  ibex  

3.  Iden/fy  popula/on  that  need  special  or  immediate  conserva/on  measures    

 

DNA  Extrac/on  

Diges/on  

Liga/on  

Mul/plexing  &  Amplifica/on  

Illumina    Sequencing  

Data  Analysis  

Walia  ibex  

Suspected  hybrid  

goat  

Nubian  ibex