title: Genetic diversity and population structure of long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) populations in Peninsular Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The genetic diversity and structure of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in Peninsular Malaysia, a widely used non-human primate species in biomedical research, have not been thoroughly characterized.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirteen sites of wild populations of long-tailed macaques representing six states were sampled and analyzed with 18 STR markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Sunggala and Penang Island populations showed the highest genetic diversity estimates, while the Jerejak Island population was the most genetically discrete due to isolation from the mainland shelf. Concordant with pairwise F(st) estimates, STRUCTURE analyses of the seven PCA-correlated clusters revealed low to moderate differentiation among the sampling sites. No association between geographic and genetic distances exists, suggesting that the study sites, including island study sites, are genetically if not geographically contiguous.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The status of the genetic structure and composition of long-tailed macaque populations require further scrutiny to develop this species as an important animal model in biomedical research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikzad
authors.forename: Soon Guan
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yong Seok Yien
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Noorjahan Banu
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Alitheen
authors.forename: Razib
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Jeffrine J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rovie-Ryan
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valdiani
authors.forename: Parastoo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khajeaian
authors.forename: Sree
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanthaswamy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008252:Macaca fascicularis / Q000235:genetics*; D008296:Malaysia; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
keywords: crab-eating macaques; microsatellites; non-human primates; population genetics; short tandem repeats