Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, E- 04120, Spain.
Departamento de Producción Animal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, Madrid, E-28040, Spain.
Heredity (Edinb). 2024 Dec;133(6):400-409. doi: 10.1038/s41437-024-00723-z. Epub 2024 Sep 17.
When prevention of species extinction is the priority, captive breeding is a key component in conservation programmes, allowing the recording of pedigree information in studbooks. The genealogical information registered in Cuvier's gazelle studbook between 1975 and 2023 was analysed to (a) assess if the implemented mating policy was successful in preserving the genetic background of the founders (1 male:3 females) in the present population, and b) improve future management and breeding decisions. Although the maternal contribution of one founder female was lost and the mean inbreeding of the total live population was high (0.305 ± 0.095), the breeding policy applied produced better results than expected from a population starting from four founders. It was successful in keeping the individual increase in inbreeding low (0.047 ± 0.021), and, notably, the inbreeding tended to decrease during the last three decades of the breeding programme, ensuring the viability of this highly inbred population. Historical dissemination of individuals among the zoos of Europe and North America caused population structuring and genetic differentiation of the live North American population. However, it did not risk the viability of the captive population. The average relatedness coefficients allowed the identification of individuals with underrepresented genotypes, which is relevant to plan future mating guidelines to keep the founders' representation balanced in the next generations. This study highlights the importance of keeping long-term pedigree information to monitor changes in the genetic diversity of captive populations, which is crucial to implement optimal mating decisions and assuring their long-term viability within an ex situ conservation programme.
当物种灭绝的预防成为优先事项时，圈养繁殖是保护计划中的一个关键组成部分，允许在血统书中记录系谱信息。分析了 1975 年至 2023 年期间在库维耶尔瞪羚血统书中登记的系谱信息，以评估实施的交配政策是否成功地保护了现有种群中（1 雄：3 雌）创始人的遗传背景，以及 b) 改进未来的管理和繁殖决策。尽管一位创始人雌性的母系贡献丢失，并且总活体种群的平均近交系数较高（0.305±0.095），但应用的繁殖政策产生的结果优于从四个创始人开始的种群的预期结果。它成功地保持了个体近交率的低增长（0.047±0.021），值得注意的是，在繁殖计划的最后三十年中，近交率呈下降趋势，确保了这个高度近交种群的生存能力。个体在欧洲和北美的动物园之间的历史传播导致了现存北美种群的结构和遗传分化。然而，这并没有危及圈养种群的生存能力。平均亲缘关系系数允许识别基因型代表性不足的个体，这对于制定未来的交配指南以保持下一代创始人的代表性平衡具有重要意义。这项研究强调了保持长期系谱信息以监测圈养种群遗传多样性变化的重要性，这对于实施最佳交配决策和确保其在原地保护计划中的长期生存能力至关重要。
