Revisiting the radiation of Gazella arabica on the Arabian Peninsula and testing the suitability of captive breeding stock for reintroduction, using mitochondrial and nuclear markers.

ABSTRACT: Today, the Arabian gazelle (G. arabica) occurs only in small, scattered populations on the Arabian Peninsula and is classified as 'vulnerable', due to intensive hunting and competition with livestock. The taxonomy of this threatened species is still under debate, hampering conservation efforts while ex-situ breeding programs could be an appropriate conservation measure to prevent the species from going extinct. In our study, we attempted to elucidate the radiation of G. arabica on the Arabian Peninsula, and to ask whether the population genetic structure allows to distinguish between discrete conservation units. We used mitochondrial markers, microsatellite markers, and three intron markers to identify conservation units, to match them with genotypes found in the captive bree

SUBMITTER: Al Mutairi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10622698 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature