DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The maintenance of genetic diversity in captive breeding programs

圈养繁殖计划被用来补充濒危种群或重新建立当地灭绝的种群。不幸的是，由于动物无法在野外生存和繁殖，大约三分之一的补充和重新引入尝试都失败了。种群的遗传多样性是一个关键变量，它可以影响适应性，从而影响生存。由于大多数育种计划无意中选择了对圈养环境的适应，基因多样性往往会发生根本改变。为了研究圈养繁殖对脊椎动物种群的影响，我们建立了6个圈养白足鼠种群，并采用动物园常用的3种繁殖方案对种群进行繁殖。现有的家谱将补充DNA数据，以形成圈养种群的完整遗传图谱。通过谱系、标记和序列数据对遗传多样性进行多方面评估，该项目将比较圈养繁殖和维持的种群的进化。通过利用不同圈养繁殖方案繁殖的白足鼠重复实验种群，我们还将评估理论方法在限制圈养种群近亲繁殖、漂变和选择方面的有效性。由此得到的数据将有助于了解不同基因和基因组区域是如何进化的，这将对进一步的圈养繁殖计划、濒危物种的恢复和生物医学研究具有重要意义。

Captive breeding programs have been used to supplement imperiled populations or to re-establish locally extinct populations. Unfortunately, approximately one-third of supplementation and reintroduction attempts are unsuccessful because animals fail to survive and reproduce in the wild. Genetic diversity of a population is a key variable that can influence fitness and, therefore, survival. Because most breeding programs inadvertently select for adaptation to captivity, genetic diversity is often radically altered. To examine the impacts of captive breeding on vertebrate populations, we established six captive populations of white-footed mice and propagated the populations using three breeding schemes typically used in zoos. The existing pedigree will be supplemented with DNA data to form a complete genetic picture of the captive populations. Through the use of a multi-faceted assessment of genetic diversity via pedigree, marker, and sequence data, this project will compare the evolution of populations bred and maintained in captivity. By utilizing replicate, experimental populations of white-footed mice propagated via different captive breeding protocols, we will also evaluate the efficacy of theoretical approaches to limiting inbreeding, drift, and selection in captive populations. The resulting data will be useful in understanding how different genes and genomic regions evolve, which will be important in further captive breeding programs for recovery of endangered species and for biomedical research.