Genetic Differentiation of the Wolf Canis lupus L. Populations from Siberia at Microsatellite Loci

• Published in: Russian journal of genetics Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 59 - 68
• Main Authors: Talala, M. S., Bondarev, A. Ya, Zakharov, E. S., Politov, D. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 2020
• Subjects: Animal Genetics; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Human Genetics; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; microsatellites; genetic diversity; population structure; geographical populations; wolf
• ISSN: 1022-7954; 1608-3369
• DOI: 10.1134/S1022795420010123

A total of 270 gray wolf Canis lupus L. specimens from different regions of Siberia (Altai krai, Altai Republic, Republic of Tuva, Krasnoyarsk krai, Republic of Buryatia, Transbaikalia, and Yakutia) were studied at seven microsatellite loci. A high level of expected heterozygosity was observed ( H E = 0.676), while there were no statistically significant differences in the indices of intrapopulation allelic and gene diversity between the samples. Low pairwise F ST values (0.012–0.084; mean, 0.036) indicate that Siberian wolf populations are connected by active gene flow. Multivariate analysis of the genetic distance matrix (PCoA) showed grouping of samples in accordance with their geographical origin (Western, Middle, and Eastern Siberia). Clustering of multilocus haplotypes in the STRUCTURE v. 2.3.4 software program also demonstrated the presence of spatial subdivision, i.e., change in the contribution of different genetic clusters ( K = 4) to the gene pool of the studied wolf samples from west to east and from south to north. In light of the genetic data obtained, the issue of the recognition and distribution of wolf subspecies is discussed.