Laboratory of Forensic Biology and Biotechnology, Institute of Forensic Science, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382007, India.
Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248001, India.
Mol Biol Rep. 2019 Dec;46(6):6187-6195. doi: 10.1007/s11033-019-05054-5. Epub 2019 Sep 5.
Indian antelope or Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is one of the widely distributed endemic species in India among wild bovids and a majority of preferred habitats are in human-dominated landscapes. Poaching threats and habitat degradation are major factors for the decline in Blackbuck population from its distribution range. Till date, there is no detailed study using molecular techniques in India on Blackbuck, except a few studies entailing phylogenetic scenario based on inadequate sampling and DNA sequences restricted over limited geographic areas. In view of this, the present study is aimed to screen the Blackbuck samples from a large part of its distribution range and to investigate the genetic diversity as well as to identify the forensically informative nucleotide sequences (FINS) for species identification. We relied on multi-genes approach using three genes of mtDNA genome viz. Cytochrome Oxidase I, Cytochrome b and 16S rRNA and identified the FINS in the Blackbuck population along with conspecific sequences divergence and genetic diversity indices. In all three genes, we observed 8 to 17 haplotypes with the intra-species sequence divergence of 0.004-0.016. Inter-species sequence divergence with the other closely related species of the Blackbuck was 0.0225-0.033. We report the presence of FINS across three genes from 12 to 18 and found more informative nucleotide sites using Cytochrome Oxidase I genes compared to Cytochrome b and 16S rRNA gene. We did not observe the presence of geographic-specific FINS amongst Blackbuck population that can be used to assign individuals to geographic origin. Besides, in the phylogenetic tree, samples from different locations did not cluster into geographic-specific clade and exhibited mixed homology for these sequences. We suggest exploring the feasibility of using nuclear markers for population assignment.
印度羚羊或黑羚（Antilope cervicapra）是印度广泛分布的特有物种之一，是野生牛科动物中的大多数，它们的主要栖息地是在人类主导的景观中。偷猎威胁和栖息地退化是黑羚数量从分布范围下降的主要因素。到目前为止，除了少数几项基于不充分采样和受限于有限地理区域的 DNA 序列的基于系统发育情景的研究外，印度尚未使用分子技术对黑羚进行详细研究。有鉴于此，本研究旨在对其分布范围的大部分地区的黑羚样本进行筛选，并调查遗传多样性，以及鉴定用于物种鉴定的法医信息核苷酸序列（FINS）。我们依赖于使用 mtDNA 基因组的三个基因（细胞色素氧化酶 I、细胞色素 b 和 16S rRNA）的多基因方法，确定了黑羚种群中的 FINS 以及与同物种的序列差异和遗传多样性指数。在所有三个基因中，我们观察到 8 到 17 个单倍型，种内序列差异为 0.004-0.016。与黑羚的其他密切相关物种的种间序列差异为 0.0225-0.033。我们报告了在三个基因中存在 FINS，从 12 到 18 个，并发现使用细胞色素氧化酶 I 基因比细胞色素 b 和 16S rRNA 基因具有更多信息性的核苷酸位点。我们没有观察到黑羚种群中存在可用于将个体分配到地理起源的地理特异性 FINS。此外，在系统发育树中，来自不同地点的样本没有聚类到地理特异性分支中，并且这些序列表现出混合同源性。我们建议探索使用核标记进行群体分配的可行性。
