Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichen West Road, Beijing 100101, China.
Mol Ecol. 2011 Jul;20(13):2662-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2011.05126.x. Epub 2011 May 17.
Clarification of the genetic structure and population history of a species can shed light on the impacts of landscapes, historical climate change and contemporary human activities and thus enables evidence-based conservation decisions for endangered organisms. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is an endangered species distributing at the edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and is currently subject to habitat loss, fragmentation and population decline, thus representing a good model to test the influences of the above-mentioned factors on a plateau edge species. We combined nine microsatellite loci and 551 bp of mitochondrial control region (mtDNA CR) to explore the genetic structure and demographic history of this species. A total of 123 individuals were sampled from 23 locations across five populations. High levels of genetic variation were identified for both mtDNA and microsatellites. Phylogeographic analyses indicated little geographic structure, suggesting historically wide gene flow. However, microsatellite-based Bayesian clustering clearly identified three groups (Qionglai-Liangshan, Xiaoxiangling and Gaoligong-Tibet). A significant isolation-by-distance pattern was detected only after removing Xiaoxiangling. For mtDNA data, there was no statistical support for a historical population expansion or contraction for the whole sample or any population except Xiaoxiangling where a signal of contraction was detected. However, Bayesian simulations of population history using microsatellite data did pinpoint population declines for Qionglai, Xiaoxiangling and Gaoligong, demonstrating significant influences of human activity on demography. The unique history of the Xiaoxiangling population plays a critical role in shaping the genetic structure of this species, and large-scale habitat loss and fragmentation is hampering gene flow among populations. The implications of our findings for the biogeography of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, subspecies classification and conservation of red pandas are discussed.
阐明物种的遗传结构和种群历史可以揭示景观、历史气候变化和当代人类活动的影响，从而为濒危生物提供基于证据的保护决策。红熊猫（Ailurus fulgens）是一种分布在青藏高原边缘的濒危物种，目前正面临着栖息地丧失、破碎化和种群减少的威胁，因此是检验上述因素对高原边缘物种影响的良好模型。我们结合了九个微卫星位点和 551bp 的线粒体控制区（mtDNA CR）来探讨该物种的遗传结构和种群历史。从五个种群的 23 个地点共采集了 123 个个体样本。mtDNA 和微卫星都显示出高水平的遗传变异。系统地理分析表明，遗传结构几乎没有地理结构，暗示着历史上存在广泛的基因流。然而，基于微卫星的贝叶斯聚类清楚地识别出了三个群体（邛崃-凉山、小相岭和高黎贡山-西藏）。仅在去除小相岭后，才检测到显著的隔离距离模式。对于 mtDNA 数据，除了小相岭外，整个样本或任何种群都没有历史上种群扩张或收缩的统计支持，而小相岭检测到收缩的信号。然而，使用微卫星数据模拟种群历史的贝叶斯分析确实指出了邛崃、小相岭和高黎贡山种群的下降，表明人类活动对种群动态有显著影响。小相岭种群的独特历史在塑造该物种的遗传结构方面起着关键作用，大规模的栖息地丧失和破碎化阻碍了种群间的基因流动。我们的研究结果对青藏高原的生物地理学、亚种分类和红熊猫的保护具有重要意义。
