Genetic DiversityCheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
What is Genetic Diversity?• refers to any variation in the nucleotides, genes,
chromosomes, or whole genomes of organisms (Ian Harrison et.al.)
• is the sum of genetic information contained in the genes of individual plants, animals, and micro-organisms.
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Diversity• Genetic differentiation within species occurs
as a result of sexual reproduction causing changes in the DNA.
• in a population means that the population contains most of the possible alleles (alternate sets of plans) for a particular gene locus rather evenly distributed throughout the population
Cheetah
• About 10,000-12,500 cheetahs are estimated to remain in 24 to 26 African countries and less than 100 animals in Iran. Namibia has the world's largest number of free-ranging cheetahs with about 3,000 animals.
• Cheetahs now mostly populate Africa and sparsely distributed in Asia and the Middle East. They live on most parts of Africa except rainforests.
Cheetah
• They produce 1 - 5 cubs. The average gestation period is about 91 - 95 days.
• The average life span is 12 years in the wild, and 17 years in captivity.
Status: Endangered
• Cheetahs are endangered in most parts of Africa. They are probably near extinction in Asia and the Middle East.
• They are threatened by the loss of habitat and fur trade
• people also kill them because they are considered a pest.
Cheetah Gene Diversity
• 10,000 years ago
-climate changes - all but one species of the cheetah, jubatus, became extinct.
-close relatives were forced to breed, and the cheetah became genetically inbred.
• Genes, which are composed of DNA, store the information that an individual inherits from his or her parents.
Cheetah Gene Diversity
• Geneticists found that cheetahs exhibit much lower levels of variation than other mammals
• Most species=80% same genes
• Cheetahs=99% same genes
Cheetah Gene Diversity
Inbreeding results to:
1. low survivorship
2. poor sperm quality
3. greater susceptibility to diseases like viruses.
But….
The real survival problems faced by cheetahs, they say, are more of the human created sort - loss of habitat and loss of prey.(Sonal Pance.
Cheetah Gene Diversity
• 1985, Stephen O’Brien and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland reported extremely low levels of genetic variation in cheetahs.
• skin grafts from one animal were not rejected by another, a sign that their immune systems are genetically identical.
Cheetah Gene Diversity
• Mid-1980s indicated that cheetahs have virtually no MHC variation.
• 1990′s, field studies questioned whether the cheetah’s survival in the wild was being compromised by their lack of genetic variation.
• 1994, Caro and Laurenson pointed that Human threats are the main cause.
• Aines Castro-Prieto, Simone Sommer and colleagues,different HMC alleles still low.
Conservation Efforts
Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF):
-most prominent and founded in 1990 by Dr Laurie Marker.
-Based in Namibia, Africa
-conducting a great deal of scientific research over
the past couple of decades -educated farmers and locals and played a role in lowering the incidence of man-animal conflict and stabilizing the big cat's population in that part of the world
Rebecca Klein 2001 • Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) cultivates a
conservation ethic among farmers in Botswana while contributing important scientific data to the international cheetah conservation effort.
• Demonstrating predator-proof farming techniques in local workshops, live theater and video production, CCB empowers farmers to secure their livelihoods while sharing land with cheetahs.
• Artificial inseminating zoo cheetahs with cryopreserved sperm from cheetahs in Namibia to improve the genetics of the population
• Improving the breeding and management of zoo animals to increase cub production and improved cub survival rates
• Developing a clear understanding of the relationship between cheetah age and subsequent reproductive ability
• Investigating issues associated with stresses of zoos and their association with reproduction and health
How to sustain Cheetah
How to sustain Cheetah?
• 1. Avoid inbreeding of the two most related species.
• 2. Proper education to all the farmers to avoid destruction on Cheetahs’ habitats.
• 3. providing a clean environment for the cheetahs.
• 4. Giving the equal chances to the cheetahs to mingle with all the members of the group for mating.
• 5. Monitoring of the Cheetah’s natural habitat.
The cheetah's survival depends on people and our ability to manage the wild population and protect its habitat.
Genetic diversity is, therefore, a key component for conservation efforts associated with population management (Andayani et al.,
2001)
References• Reference: Castro-Prieto A, Wachter B, & Sommer S
(2010). Cheetah paradigm revisited: MHC diversity in the world’s largest free-ranging population. Molecular biology and evolution PMID: 21183613
• http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=intro_to_the_cheetah
• http://wildlifeconservationnetwork.org/wildlife/cheetahbotswana.html
• http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/endangeredspecies/cheetah/default.cfm
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