Transcript Conservation Genetics

Conservation
Genetics
By:
Capaccio, Rose
Foschetti, Olivia
Howland, Yvette
Shahmehri, Nadia
Strazzera, Josephine
Younus, Muhammad
Conservation Biology + Genetics
= Conservation Genetics
 Conservation biology is the study of individual species
and populations that have been impacted by various
human behaviors such as habitat loss and exploitation
and/or environmental changes
(learn.genetics.utah.edu) and finding ways to maintain
and restore biodiversity.
 Conservation genetics is a mixture of ecology,
molecular biology, population genetics, mathematical
modeling and evolutionary systematics
(learn.genetics.utah.edu).
 Once scientists understand the genetic relationships of
an organism, they may proceed with an appropriate
management technique to preserve the biological and
genetic diversity of a species.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/archive/conservation/index.html
Conservation Genetics
Frankham et al. 2002. Introduction to Conservation Genetics.
Cambridge Univ. Press
 Conservation genetics is the application of genetics to
preserve species as dynamic entities capable of coping
with environmental change
 Genetic management of small populations
 Resolution of taxonomic uncertainties
 Identifying and defining units of conservation within
and between species
 Use of genetic information for wildlife forensics
 Address genetic factors that affect extinction risk and
genetic management to minimize or mitigate those
risks
Importance / Goals of
Conservation Genetics
 Genetics is a valuable resource towards conservation
by reducing the amount of time spent of conserving the
wrong population or on a population that may not be
endangered (learn.genetics.utah.edu).
 Conservation genetics provides new information about
the diversity among the individuals in a population.
 It is a tool to help maintain and restore population
variability.
 Without genetic diversity, biodiversity may be lost.
5 broad categories of conservation genetics publications
(Allendorf and Luikart)
 Management and reintroduction of captive populations,
and the restoration of biological communities
 Description and identification of individuals, genetic
population structure, kin relationships, and taxonomic
relationships
 Detection and prediction of the effects of habitat loss,
fragmentation and isolation
 Detection and prediction of the effects of hybridization
and introgression
 Understanding the relationships between adaptation or
fitness and the genetic characters of individuals or
populations
Evolutionary genetics
Taxonomic uncertainties
Understanding
species biology
Introgression
Conservation Genetics
Forensics
Small populations
Inbreeding
Loss of genetic diversity
Reproductive fitness
Genetic management
Extinction
Identify mgmt units
Adaptation to captivity
Wild
Captive
Reintroduction
Population structure
& fragmentation
Outbreeding
Mutational accumulation
Use of Conservation
Genetics
1. Habitat Destruction
 A population is targeted by conservation
managers when their habitat is or may be
destroyed by human interference such as
building homes or natural phenomena such
as hurricanes.
2. Change in Population Size
 When a population is reduced in size, genetic
diversity may be adversely affected. The
smaller the population, the more likely to be
susceptible to random or unexpected events.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/archive/conservation/when.html
11 major genetic issues in conservation biology
(Frankham et al.)
 Inbreeding and inbreeding
depression
 Loss of genetic diversity and
adaptive potential
 Population fragmentation and
loss of gene flow
 Genetic drift becomes more
important than natural
selection as main evolutionary
force
 Accumulation of deleterious
mutations (lethal equivalents)
 Adaptation to captivity and
consequences for captive
breeding and reintroductions
 Taxonomic uncertainties
masking true biodiversity or
creating false biodiversity
 Defining ESUs and
management units within
species
 Forensic analyses
 Understand species biology
 Outbreeding depression
Tools
1. Protein
Electrophoresis
 It compares the similar
proteins between
species found in a
portion of the DNA
sequence.
2. Chromosome Analysis
 It shows the differences
in the number of
chromosomes between
closely related species.
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/archive/conservation/tools/index.html
Reduction in Gene Flow/
Metapopulation
 Gene flow is the
gradual exchange of
alleles between
populations with the
dispersal of gametes
or the migration of
individuals. Migration
is the main route for
gene flow in animals
and cross pollination
and seed dispersion in
plants.
 Habitat fragmentation has also led to a decline in gene
flow among populations of threatened or endangered
species due to the small separate colonies in which they
exhist and their connection to their remaining
habitat. Habitat fragmentation by isolated population of
species, affects the gene flow because surviving
population do not have movement between the
populations to encourage gene flow. Metapopulation
describes the occurrence of spatially separated
subpopulations with limited gene flow that results in
extinction or replacements over time. (W.Klug, M.
Cummings, C. Spencer, M. Palladino; Essentials of
Genetics; Seventh Edition; Pearsom Education, Inc.
2010; pp. 514-515)
 Many studies of current gene
flow are aimed at understanding
gene movement on a regional or
landscape scale. As continuous
populations become
fragmented, they may assume
metapopulation dynamics,
through extinction and
recolonization events of the
different fragments. Populations
implicated in the metapopulation
suffer genetic diversity and
result in inbreeding
depression. It is not clear
whether recent modeling
approaches in metapopulation
biology and landscape ecology
offer viable insight on gene
movement. (http://www.nceas.u
csb.edu/nceasweb/projects/2057/nceaspaper3/data/Gfpart1.html).
References:
(W.Klug, M. Cummings, C. Spencer, M. Palladino; Essentials of Genetics; Seventh Edition; Pearsom Education, Inc. 2010; pp. 514-515)
http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/94/1/128
http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/projects/2057/nceas-paper3/data/Gfpart1.html
DNA Sequence Evolution
-3O,OOO yrs
AAGACTT
AAGATTT
AAGGTTT
AAAGTTT
AAGATTC
GAGATTC
-20,000 yrs
AGGACTT
AGGATTC
AGGACTC
AGGATTC
AGGGCTC
-10,000 yrs
today
Glossary
biodiversity – the biological variation
represented by different plants and
animals Back to slide
genetic diversity – a measure of the
possible choices of information provided
by a gene Back to slide
AAAGTTT
GAGATTC
AGGATTC
AGGATTC
AGGGCTC
DNA Sequence Evolution
AAGACTT
AAGATTT
AAGGTTT
AAAGTTT
AGGACTT
AAGATTC
GAGATTC
AGGATTC
AGGACTC
AGGATTC
Homoplasy
AGGGCTC
Seeds of rare crop varieties, cryogenically preserved at
the US Department of Agriculture National Seed Storage
Laboratory
Growth in human population over the past 2000 years and
projected through 2100
A coastal marsh in North Carolina exemplifies an
ecosystem with low interspecific diversity
Phenotypic variation in seed color and markings in the
common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) reveals high levels of
intraspecific diversity
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
Change in frequencies over ten generations for two sets of
alleles, A/a and B/b, in a theoretical population subject to
genetic drift
Increase in inbreeding coefficient (F) in theoretical
populations as the population size (N) decreases
The Isle Royale gray wolf (Canis lupus)
The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
Effects of bottlenecks in various populations on
evolutionary potential in Drosophila, as shown by
distributions of NaCl {Table Salt} concentrations at
extinction
Effect of captive-population founder number on the
probability of maintaining both A1 and A2 alleles at a
locus
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes)
The Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi)
Bibliography
1. The following article is a review of conservation of genetics.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.library.esc.edu/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TCY-4YKKK22-15&_cdi=5183&_user=683075&_pii=S016895251000003X&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item&_
coverDate=04%2F30%2F2010&_sk=999739995&wchp=dGLzVlbzSkWb&md5=9d5e6caeb47dee13e1b235a80583303a&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Ouborg, N., Pertoldi, C., Loeschcke, V., Bijlsma, R., & Hedrick, P. (2010). Conservation genetics in
transition to conservation genomics . Trends in Genetics, 26(4), 177-187.
2. This article is a review of the challenges and opportunities faced in conservation genetics from
management to breeding systems.
http://www.sciencedirect.com.library.esc.edu/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6V5X-508FKVH-12&_cdi=5798&_user=683075&_pii=S000632071000234X&_origin=search&_zone=rslt_list_item&_
coverDate=09%2F30%2F2010&_sk=998569990&wchp=dGLzVlbzSkWb&md5=3b982b4fc9aa31d0367f2aadc8d457c5&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
Frankham, R. (2010). Challenges and opportunities of genetic approaches to biological conservation.
Biological Conservation, 143(9), 1919-1927.
3. The following website is about “The AMNH Center for Conservation Genetics (ConGen) employs
cutting-edge techniques in genetics, molecular biology, population biology, molecular ecology, and
forensics to identify and ameliorate genetic threats to endangered species and to develop and
support conservation strategies for retaining genetic diversity.”
http://research.amnh.org/genomics/Programs/Conservation-Genetics
4. Conservation Genetics By Kris Hundertmark
5. Essentials of Genetics (7th Edition) ISBN: 0321618696