Study on genetic diversity of endangered species and development of molecular genetic techniques for conservation of genetic resources

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The objective of this project was to understand genetic diversity of endangered species and to develop molecular genetic techniques for their conservation. The results obtained in this study were as folows :1)Molecular phylogeny of mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA)showed that genetic variations within the Japanese population of golden eagles were very small. In addtion, the low level of genetic differences between Japanese, Korean, and Chinese populations indicated genetic communication in Far Eastern areas because golden eagles have wide range of movement. Our data provided useful information to the capture-breeding plan of this species in zoological gardens of our country.2)In Hokkaido brown bears, we found three mtDNA lineages which were distributed separately in southern Hokkaido, North-central Hokkaido, and eastern Hokkaido. The lineage of southern Hokkaido was phylogenetically closer to the Tibetan brown bear, while the north-central Hokkaido lineage was very much closer to the continental populations around Okhotsk Sea. This indicates that the ancestry of Hokkaido brown bears immigrated to Hokkaido in different routes or different times. in addition, we found repetitive sequences within the mtDNA control region, which are polymorphic and heteroplasmic. Our results provided invaluable information to considering conservation of species and genetic resources of the worldwide brown bear populations.3)We found three mtDNA lineages in sika deer population in Hokkaido. But the distribution patterns were not so clear like brown bears'. Our data indicated that the deer population recovered along conifer forests from their bottleneck due to heavy snow of the Meiji period. Microsatellite analysis showed that the low level of genetic diversity in the deer population of Hokkaido.4)We discussed biogeography and genetic features based on molecular phylogenetic data of the Japanese weasel and flying squirrels in addition to the above species.