Zan Shuting, Zhou Lizhi, Jiang Hao, Zhang Baowei, Wu Zhi'an, Hou Yinxu
Institute of Biodiversity and Wetland Ecology, School of Life Science, Anhui University, Anhui Key Laboratory of Eco-engineering and Bio-technique, Hefei, China Hefei Wildlife Park, Hefei, China.
Integr Zool. 2008 Sep;3(3):235-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-4877.2008.00096.x.
The oriental white stork (Ciconia boyciana) is a threatened species, and their numbers are still in decline due to habitat loss and poaching. China is a breeding and main wintering area for this animal and in recent years some individuals have been found breeding in wintering areas and at some stopover sites. These new breeding colonies are an exciting sign, however, little is understood of the genetic structure of this species. Based on the analysis of a 463-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region, we investigated the genetic structure and genetic diversity of 66 wild oriental white storks from a Chinese population. We analyzed the sequences of 66 storks obtained in this study and the data of 17 storks from a Japanese population. Thirty-seven different haplotypes were detected among the 83 samples. An analysis of molecular variance showed a significant population subdivision between the two populations (F(ST) = 0.316, P < 0.05). However, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the samples from the different populations did not form separate clusters and that there were genetic exchanges between the two populations. Compared with the Japanese population, the Chinese population had a relatively higher genetic diversity with a haplotype diversity (hπ SD) of 0.953 ± 0.013 and a nucleotide diversity (π± SD) of 0.013 ± 0.007. The high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity indicate that this population might be in a rapidly increasing period from a small effective population. A neighbor-joining tree analysis indicated that genetic exchange had occurred between the newly arisen southern breeding colony and the northern breeding colony wintering in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain. These results have important implications for the conservation of the oriental white stork population in China.
东方白鹳（Ciconia boyciana）是一种濒危物种，由于栖息地丧失和偷猎，其数量仍在下降。中国是这种动物的繁殖地和主要越冬地，近年来，在越冬地和一些中途停歇地发现了一些个体在繁殖。这些新的繁殖群体是一个令人兴奋的迹象，然而，人们对该物种的遗传结构了解甚少。基于对一段463bp线粒体DNA（mtDNA）控制区的分析，我们调查了来自中国种群的66只野生东方白鹳的遗传结构和遗传多样性。我们分析了本研究中获得的66只鹳的序列以及来自日本种群的17只鹳的数据。在83个样本中检测到37种不同的单倍型。分子方差分析显示两个种群之间存在显著的群体细分（F(ST)=0.316，P<0.05）。然而，系统发育分析表明，来自不同种群的样本没有形成单独的聚类，两个种群之间存在基因交流。与日本种群相比，中国种群具有相对较高的遗传多样性，单倍型多样性（hπ SD）为0.953±0.013，核苷酸多样性（π± SD）为0.013±0.007。高单倍型多样性和低核苷酸多样性表明该种群可能正处于从小有效种群快速增长的时期。邻接树分析表明，新出现的南方繁殖群体与在长江中下游平原越冬的北方繁殖群体之间发生了基因交流。这些结果对中国东方白鹳种群的保护具有重要意义。
