Abstract：
The zoos manage small populations of endangered big cat species like tiger, lion, and leopard for display, research, and conservation breeding. Genetic management of these populations is essential to ensure long term survival and conservation utility. Here we propose a simple and cost effective microsatellite based protocol for the genetic management of captive big cats. We sampled 36 big cat individuals from Seoul Grand Park Zoo (Republic of Korea) and amplified 33 published microsatellite loci. Overall, allelic richness and gene diversity was found highest for leopards, followed by lions and tigers. Twelve of the thirty-three markers showed a high degree of polymorphism across all target species. These microsatellites provide a high degree of discrimination for tiger (1.45 × 10-8), lion (1.54 × 10-10), and leopard (1.88 × 10-12) and thus can be adopted for the genetic characterization of big cats in accredited zoos globally. During captive breeding, zoo authorities rely on pedigree records maintained in studbooks to ensure mating of genetically fit unrelated individuals. Several studies have reported errors in studbook records of big cat species. Microsatellites are simple and cost effective tool for DNA fingerprinting, estimation of genetic diversity, and paternity assessment. Our unified microsatellite panel (12-plex) for big cats is efficient and can easily be adopted by zoo authorities for regular population management.
摘要：
动物园管理着少量濒临灭绝的大型猫科动物，如老虎，狮子,和豹子展示，研究,和保护性育种。这些种群的基因管理对于确保长期生存和保护效用至关重要。在这里，我们提出了一种简单且经济有效的基于微卫星的协议，用于圈养大型猫的遗传管理。我们从首尔大公园动物园（大韩民国）采样了36只大猫，并扩增了33个已发布的微卫星基因座。总的来说,发现豹子的等位基因丰富度和基因多样性最高，其次是狮子和老虎。在所有目标物种中，33个标记中有12个显示出高度的多态性。这些微卫星为老虎提供了高度的辨别力(1.45×10-8),狮子（1.54×10-10），和豹子（1.88×10-12），因此可用于全球认可动物园中大型猫的遗传表征。在圈养繁殖期间，动物园当局依靠保存在研究簿中的血统记录来确保与基因无关的个体交配。一些研究报告了大猫物种的研究簿记录中的错误。微卫星是简单且具有成本效益的DNA指纹识别工具，遗传多样性的估计，和亲子鉴定.我们针对大型猫科动物的统一微型卫星面板（12丛）非常高效，可以很容易地被动物园当局采用以进行常规种群管理。
