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7 - The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in declining populations: an example of adaptive variation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2010

By
Philip Hedrick
Edited by
William V. Holt ,
Amanda R. Pickard ,
John C. Rodger  and
David E. Wildt
Philip Hedrick
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, U.S.A.
William V. Holt
Affiliation:
Zoological Society of London
Amanda R. Pickard
Affiliation:
Zoological Society of London
John C. Rodger
Affiliation:
Marsupial CRC, New South Wales
David E. Wildt
Affiliation:
Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC
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Summary

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Conservation biology has focused on the long-term survival of endangered species. To this end, the primary genetic goals in managed populations of endangered species have been the avoidance of lowered fitness from inbreeding and the maintenance of potentially adaptive genetic variation. Captive breeding programmes of endangered species have specifically been designed both to avoid inbreeding (inbreeding depression) and to retain a given amount of genetic variation for a given period of time, primarily by minimising mean kinship in the population (Ballou & Lacy, 1995). Generally these goals are mutually consistent and may also serve other purposes, such as avoiding adaptation to captive conditions, avoiding accumulation of detrimental variants and maintenance of adaptive variation.

However, as more molecular genetic information accumulates, it is useful to consider whether these new data can be used to manage more effectively genetically captive populations. For example, by using a number of microsatellite loci (over 5000 highly variable genes have been described in humans; Dib et al., 1996), it may be possible to estimate the relationships among founders or other individuals of unknown ancestry. With this information, breeding plans may be modified to reflect previously unknown relationships as well as those known from captive breeding. Relevant to the discussion here, it may be possible to determine the value of maintaining particular genetic variants in a population because of their adaptive significance. Priority could be given to breeding individuals or groups of individuals that would maintain these adaptive variants.

Type
Chapter
Information
Reproductive Science and Integrated Conservation , pp. 97 - 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

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