Cheetah (genetic diversity)

Genetic DiversityCheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)

What is Genetic Diversity?• refers to any variation in the nucleotides, genes,

chromosomes, or whole genomes of organisms (Ian Harrison et.al.)

• is the sum of genetic information contained in the genes of individual plants, animals, and micro-organisms.

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Diversity• Genetic differentiation within species occurs

as a result of sexual reproduction causing changes in the DNA.

•  in a population means that the population contains most of the possible alleles (alternate sets of plans) for a particular gene locus rather evenly distributed throughout the population

Cheetah

• About 10,000-12,500 cheetahs are estimated to remain in 24 to 26 African countries and less than 100 animals in Iran. Namibia has the world's largest number of free-ranging cheetahs with about 3,000 animals. 

• Cheetahs now mostly populate Africa and sparsely distributed in Asia and the Middle East. They live on most parts of Africa except rainforests.

Cheetah

• They produce 1 - 5 cubs. The average gestation period is about 91 - 95 days.

• The average life span is 12 years in the wild, and 17 years in captivity.

Status: Endangered

• Cheetahs are endangered in most parts of Africa. They are probably near extinction in Asia and the Middle East. 

• They are threatened by the loss of habitat and fur trade

• people also kill them because they are considered a pest.

Cheetah Gene Diversity

• 10,000 years ago

-climate changes - all but one species of the cheetah, jubatus, became extinct.

-close relatives were forced to breed, and the cheetah became genetically inbred.

• Genes, which are composed of DNA, store the information that an individual inherits from his or her parents.

Cheetah Gene Diversity

• Geneticists found that cheetahs exhibit much lower levels of variation than other mammals

• Most species=80% same genes

• Cheetahs=99% same genes

Cheetah Gene Diversity

Inbreeding results to:

1. low survivorship

2. poor sperm quality

3. greater susceptibility to diseases like viruses.

But….

The real survival problems faced by cheetahs, they say, are more of the human created sort - loss of habitat and loss of prey.(Sonal Pance.

Cheetah Gene Diversity

• 1985, Stephen O’Brien and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland reported extremely low levels of genetic variation in cheetahs.

• skin grafts from one animal were not rejected by another, a sign that their immune systems are genetically identical.

Cheetah Gene Diversity

• Mid-1980s indicated that cheetahs have virtually no MHC variation.

• 1990′s, field studies questioned whether the cheetah’s survival in the wild was being compromised by their lack of genetic variation.

• 1994, Caro and Laurenson pointed that Human threats are the main cause.

• Aines Castro-Prieto, Simone Sommer and colleagues,different HMC alleles still low.

Conservation Efforts

Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF):

-most prominent and founded in 1990 by Dr Laurie Marker.

-Based in Namibia, Africa

-conducting a great deal of scientific research over

the past couple of decades -educated farmers and locals and played a role in lowering the incidence of man-animal conflict and stabilizing the big cat's population in that part of the world

Rebecca Klein 2001 • Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) cultivates a

conservation ethic among farmers in Botswana while contributing important scientific data to the international cheetah conservation effort.

• Demonstrating predator-proof farming techniques in local workshops, live theater and video production, CCB empowers farmers to secure their livelihoods while sharing land with cheetahs.

• Artificial inseminating zoo cheetahs with cryopreserved sperm from cheetahs in Namibia to improve the genetics of the population

• Improving the breeding and management of zoo animals to increase cub production and improved cub survival rates

• Developing a clear understanding of the relationship between cheetah age and subsequent reproductive ability

• Investigating issues associated with stresses of zoos and their association with reproduction and health

How to sustain Cheetah

How to sustain Cheetah?

• 1. Avoid inbreeding of the two most related species.

• 2. Proper education to all the farmers to avoid destruction on Cheetahs’ habitats.

• 3. providing a clean environment for the cheetahs.

• 4. Giving the equal chances to the cheetahs to mingle with all the members of the group for mating.

• 5. Monitoring of the Cheetah’s natural habitat.

The cheetah's survival depends on people and our ability to manage the wild population and protect its habitat.

Genetic diversity is, therefore, a key component for conservation efforts associated with population management  (Andayani et al.,

2001)

References• Reference: Castro-Prieto A, Wachter B, & Sommer S

(2010). Cheetah paradigm revisited: MHC diversity in the world’s largest free-ranging population. Molecular biology and evolution PMID: 21183613

• http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=intro_to_the_cheetah

• http://wildlifeconservationnetwork.org/wildlife/cheetahbotswana.html

• http://nationalzoo.si.edu/SCBI/endangeredspecies/cheetah/default.cfm

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