title: Large-scale genetic survey provides insights into the captive management and reintroduction of giant pandas.
abstract: The captive genetic management of threatened species strives to preserve genetic diversity and avoid inbreeding to ensure populations remain available, healthy, and viable for future reintroduction. Determining and responding to the genetic status of captive populations is therefore paramount to these programs. Here, we genotyped 19 microsatellite loci for 240 captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (∼64% of the captive population) from four breeding centers, Wolong (WL), Chengdu (CD), Louguantai (LGT), and Beijing (BJ), and analyzed 655 bp of mitochondrial DNA control region sequence for 220 of these animals. High levels of genetic diversity and low levels of inbreeding were estimated in the breeding centers, indicating that the captive population is genetically healthy and deliberate further genetic input from wild animals is unnecessary. However, the LGT population faces a higher risk of inbreeding, and significant genetic structure was detected among breeding centers, with LGT-CD and WL-BJ clustering separately. Based on these findings, we highlight that: 1) the LGT population should be managed as an independent captive population to resemble the genetic distinctness of their Qinling Mountain origins; 2) exchange between CD and WL should be encouraged because of similar wild founder sources; 3) the selection of captive individuals for reintroduction should consider their geographic origin, genetic background, and genetic contribution to wild populations; and 4) combining our molecular genetic data with existing pedigree data will better guide giant panda breeding and further reduce inbreeding into the future.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yibo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Chengdong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda, Wolong, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Desheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi (Louguantai) Rescue and Breeding Center for Rare Wildlife, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Xuelin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Beijing Zoo, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chenglin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China weifw@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Fuwen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000235:genetics*; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis*; D056727:Endangered Species; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010375:Pedigree; D001503:Ursidae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: captive management; genetic diversity; giant panda; inbreeding; reintroduction