Pre-Historic and Recent Vicariance Events Shape Genetic Structure and Diversity in Endangered Lion-Tailed Macaque in the Western Ghats: Implications for Conservation.

ABSTRACT: Genetic isolation of populations is a potent force that helps shape the course of evolution. However, small populations in isolation, especially in fragmented landscapes, are known to lose genetic variability, suffer from inbreeding depression and become genetically differentiated among themselves. In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) inhabiting the fragmented landscape of Anamalai hills and examined the genetic structure of the species across its distributional range in the Western Ghats. We sequenced around 900 bases of DNA covering two mitochondrial regions-hypervariable region-I and partial mitochondrial cytochrome b-from individuals sampled both from wild and captivity, constructed and dated phylogenetic trees. We found that the lio

SUBMITTER: Ram MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4641736 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature