Historically low mitochondrial DNA diversity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal marsupial that was historically widespread across eastern Australia until the end of the 19th century when it suffered a steep population decline. Hunting for the fur trade, habitat conversion, and disease contributed to a precipitous reduction in koala population size during the late 1800s and early 1900s. To examine the effects of these reductions in population size on koala genetic diversity, we sequenced part of the hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in koala museum specimens collected in the 19th and 20th centuries, hypothesizing that the historical samples would exhibit greater genetic diversity.

Results

The mtDNA haplotypes present in historical museum samples were identical to haplotypes foun

SUBMITTER: Tsangaras K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3518249 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature