Possible conservation units of the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) in Sarawak based on variation of mtDNA control region.
The mitochondrial DNA control region of the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) was sequenced using 21 DNA samples collected from confiscated sun bears to identify conservation units, such as evolutionarily significant units and management units, in Sarawak, Borneo Island. A total of 10 haplotypes were observed, indicating the presence of at least two lineages in the sun bear population in Sarawak. Presumably, these two lineages could represent evolutionarily significant units. However, the geographical distributions of the two lineages remained unknown due to the lack of information regarding the exact capture locations of the confiscated sun bears. It is essential to elucidate the geographical distributions of these lineages in order to create a proper conservation plan for the sun bears in Sarawak. Therefore, further studies examining the haplotype distributions using DNA samples from known localities are essential.
Onuma
Manabu
M
Laboratory of Wildlife Biology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N18 W9 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan. onuma.manabu@nies.go.jp
Suzuki
Masatsugu
M
Ohtaishi
Noriyuki
N
D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D001503:Ursidae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial