title: Patterns of molecular genetic variation among African elephant populations.
abstract: The highly threatened African elephants have recently been subdivided into two species, Loxodonta africana (savannah or bush elephant) and L. cyclotis (forest elephant) based on morphological and molecular studies. A molecular genetic assessment of 16 microsatellite loci across 20 populations (189 individuals) affirms species level genetic differentiation and provides robust genotypic assessment of species affiliation. Savannah elephant populations show modest levels of phylogeographic subdivision based on composite microsatellite genotype, an indication of recent population isolation and restricted gene flow between locales. The savannah elephants show significantly lower genetic diversity than forest elephants, probably reflecting a founder effect in the recent history of the savannah species.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue N, D4-100, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA.
authors.forename: Kenine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Comstock
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Georgiadis
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pecon-Slattery
authors.forename: Alfred L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.forename: Elaine A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ostrander
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Samuel K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wasser
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018900:Dinucleotide Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel / Q000662:veterinary; D004606:Elephants / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004247:DNA