School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
Department of Biological Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Mol Ecol Resour. 2024 Oct;24(7):e14007. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.14007. Epub 2024 Aug 14.
Rapid biodiversity loss threatens many species with extinction. Captive populations of species of conservation concern (such as those housed in zoos and dedicated breeding centres) act as an insurance should wild populations go extinct or need supplemental individuals to boost populations. Limited resources mean that captive populations are almost always small and started from few founding individuals. As a result, captive populations require careful management to minimize negative genetic impacts, with decisions about which individuals to breed together often guided by the principle of minimizing relatedness. Typically this strategy aims to retain 90% of genetic diversity over 200 years (Soulé et al., Zoo Biology, 1986, 5, 101), but it has a weakness in that it does not directly manage for genetic load. In this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Speak et al. (Molecular Ecology Resources, 2024, e13967) present a novel proof-of-concept study for taking this next step and incorporating estimates of individual genetic load into the planning of captive breeding, using an approach that is likely to be widely applicable to many captive populations.
生物多样性的迅速丧失使许多物种面临灭绝的威胁。受保护物种的圈养种群（如动物园和专门的繁殖中心所饲养的物种）是一种保险措施，以防野生动物种群灭绝或需要补充个体来增加种群数量。有限的资源意味着圈养种群的规模通常很小，而且是由少数创始个体开始的。因此，需要对圈养种群进行精心管理，以尽量减少负面的遗传影响，关于哪些个体可以一起繁殖的决策通常以最小化亲缘关系为指导原则。通常情况下，这一策略旨在在 200 年内保留 90%的遗传多样性（Soulé 等人，《动物园生物学》，1986 年，5 期，101），但它的一个弱点是，它并没有直接针对遗传负荷进行管理。在本期《分子生态学资源》中，Speak 等人（Molecular Ecology Resources，2024，e13967）提出了一项新颖的概念验证研究，旨在通过一种可能广泛适用于许多圈养种群的方法，将个体遗传负荷的估计纳入圈养繁殖的规划中，从而迈出下一步。
