DNA analysis indicates that Asian elephants are native to Borneo and are therefore a high priority for conservation
DNA analysis indicates that Asian elephants are native to Borneo and are therefore a high priority for conservation
复制标题
DOI：
10.1371/journal.pbio.0000006
复制
发表时间：
2003-10-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9.8
通讯作者：
Melnick, DJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fernando, P;Vidya, TNC;Melnick, DJ
婆罗洲大象的起源存在争议。两种相互矛盾的假说认为，它们要么是本土的，可以追溯到更新世，要么是从16-18世纪进口的大象进化而来的。在分类学上，它们要么被归类为一个独特的亚种，要么被归入印度亚种或苏门答腊亚种。如果被证明是一个独特的土著种群，这将把亚洲象的自然物种范围扩大1300公里，因此婆罗洲象将比它们是野生种群具有更大的保护重要性。我们使用线粒体DNA片段(包括部分高变量d-loop)和五个常染色体微卫星基因座，将婆罗洲象的DNA与亚洲象范围内的大象的DNA进行了比较。我们发现，婆罗洲的大象在基因上是截然不同的，分子上的分歧表明婆罗洲曾在更新世殖民，随后被隔离。我们驳斥了婆罗洲大象是被引入的假设。婆罗洲象的遗传差异证明它们是一个独立的进化重要单位。因此，婆罗洲象与其他种群的杂交在迁地保护中是禁忌的，它们的遗传独特性使它们成为亚洲象保护的最优先种群之一。
The origin of Borneo's elephants is controversial. Two competing hypotheses argue that they are either indigenous, tracing back to the Pleistocene, or were introduced, descending from elephants imported in the 16th-18th centuries. Taxonomically, they have either been classified as a unique subspecies or placed under the Indian or Sumatran subspecies. If shown to be a unique indigenous population, this would extend the natural species range of the Asian elephant by 1300 km, and therefore Borneo elephants would have much greater conservation importance than if they were a feral population. We compared DNA of Borneo elephants to that of elephants from across the range of the Asian elephant, using a fragment of mitochondrial DNA, including part of the hypervariable d-loop, and five autosomal microsatellite loci. We find that Borneo's elephants are genetically distinct, with molecular divergence indicative of a Pleistocene colonisation of Borneo and subsequent isolation. We reject the hypothesis that Borneo's elephants were introduced. The genetic divergence of Borneo elephants warrants their recognition as a separate evolutionary significant unit. Thus, interbreeding Borneo elephants with those from other populations would be contraindicated in ex situ conservation, and their genetic distinctiveness makes them one of the highest priority populations for Asian elephant conservation.