Hardy C, Casane D, Vigne J D, Callou C, Dennebouy N, Mounolou J C, Monnerot M
Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, C.N.R.S., F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Experientia. 1994 Jun 15;50(6):564-70. doi: 10.1007/BF01921726.
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is now widely distributed throughout the world as a result of transportation by man. The original populations, however, were confined to southern France and Spain. In order to investigate the role of human intervention in determining the genetic diversity of rabbit populations, we are studying the origin of rabbits introduced onto a small Mediterranean island (Zembra) near Tunis over 1400 years ago, by examining ancient DNA extracted from rabbit bones found both on Zembra and on the European mainland. Ancient DNA was successfully extracted from rabbit bones found at two archaeological sites dated to at least the Early Bronze Age (more than 3500 years ago) in south-central France, and compared to that found in modern mainland and island populations using a small variable region of the cytochrome b gene. The results confirm that the Zembra Island population is descended from that present over 1400 years ago. The technical aspects of DNA extraction from bones and the implications of this type of research for determining the origin of introduced rabbit populations are discussed.
欧洲野兔（穴兔）由于人类的运输活动，现在广泛分布于世界各地。然而，其原始种群仅分布于法国南部和西班牙。为了研究人类干预在决定兔种群遗传多样性方面的作用，我们通过检测从古DNA中提取的样本，研究1400多年前被引入突尼斯附近一个地中海小岛（泽姆布拉岛）的兔子的起源，这些古DNA样本分别来自泽姆布拉岛和欧洲大陆发现的兔骨。我们成功地从法国中南部至少可追溯到青铜时代早期（超过3500年前）的两个考古遗址发现的兔骨中提取了古DNA，并使用细胞色素b基因的一个小可变区域，将其与现代大陆和岛屿种群中发现的DNA进行了比较。结果证实，泽姆布拉岛的兔种群是1400多年前存在的兔种群的后裔。本文还讨论了从骨骼中提取DNA的技术方面，以及这类研究对于确定引入兔种群起源的意义。
