Title

Analytical DNA Fingerprinting in Lions: Parentage, Genetic Diversity, and Kinship

Authors

Dennis Gilbert, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
Craig Packer, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
A. E. Pusey, University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
J. Claiborne Stephens, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute at FrederickFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1991

Publication Title

Journal of Heredity

ISSN

0022-1503

Volume

82

Issue/No.

5

First Page

378

Last Page

386

Abstract

The application of hypervariable minisatellite genomic families to the reconstruction of population genetic structure holds great promise in describing the demographic history and future prospects of free-ranging populations. This potential has not yet been realized due to unforeseen empirical constraints associated with the use of heterologous species probes, to theoretical limitations on the power of the procedure to track genic heterozygosity and kinship, and to the absence of extensive field studies to test genetic predictions. We combine here the technical development of feline-specific VNTR (variable number tandem repeat) families of genetic loci with the long-term demographic and behavioral observations of lion populations of the Serengeti ecosystem in East Africa. Minisatellite variation was used to quantify the extent of genetic variation in several populations that differed in their natural history and levels of inbreeding. Definitive parentage, both maternal and paternal, was assessed for 78 cubs born in 11 lion prides, permitting the assessment of precise genealogical relationships among some 200 lions. The extent of DNA restriction fragment sharing between lions was empirically calibrated with the coefficient of relatedness, r, in two different populations that had distinct demographic histories. The results suggest that reliable estimates of relative genetic diversity, of parentage, and of individual relatedness can be achieved in free-ranging populations, provided the minisatellite family is calibrated in established pedigrees for the species.

Comments

©1991 The American Genetic Association

Additional Comments

Department of Health and Human Services contract #: NO1-CO-74102; NSF grant #s: BSR8507087, BSR8807702

NSUWorks Citation

Gilbert, Dennis; Craig Packer; A. E. Pusey; J. Claiborne Stephens; and Stephen J. O'Brien. 1991. "Analytical DNA Fingerprinting in Lions: Parentage, Genetic Diversity, and Kinship." Journal of Heredity 82, (5): 378-386. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/294

ORCID ID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015