Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea

National Institute of Ecology (국립생태원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Simple Assessment of Taxonomic Status and Genetic Diversity of Korean Long-Tailed Goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) Based on Partial Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Using Non-Invasive Fecal Samples

  • Received : 2020.09.14
  • Accepted : 2020.12.28
  • Published : 2021.02.01
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

South Korea presently harbors less than 800 long-tailed gorals (Naemorhedus caudatus), an endangered species. I report for the first time on the taxonomic status and genetic diversity of the Korean species using non-invasive fecal sampling based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence analyses. To determine the taxonomic status of this species, I reconstructed a consensus neighbor-joining tree and generated a minimum spanning network combining haplotype sequences obtained from feces with a new goral-specific primer set developed using known sequences of the Korean goral and related species (e.g., Russian goral, Chinese goral, Himalayan goral, Japanese serow, etc.). I also examined the genetic diversity of this species. The Korean goral showed only three different haplotypes. The phylogenetic tree and parsimony haplotype network revealed a single cluster of Korean and Russian gorals, separate from related species. Generally, the Korean goral has a relatively low genetic diversity compared with that of other ungulate species (e.g., moose and red deer). I preliminarily showcased the application of non-invasive fecal sampling to the study of genetic characteristics, including the taxonomic status and genetic diversity of gorals, based on mitochondrial DNA. More phylogenetic studies are necessary to ensure the conservation of goral populations throughout South Korea.

Keywords

References

  1. An, J.H. (2006). Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for endangered Korean goral (Nemorhaedus caudatus raddeanus) and its molecular phylogenetic status. (Doctoral dissertation). Seoul National University, Seoul.
  2. Arnold, G.W., Steven, D.E., Weeldenburg, J.R., and Smith, E.A. (1993). Influences of remnant size, spacing pattern and connectivity on population boundaries and demography in euros Macropus robustus living in a fragmented landscape. Biological Conservation, 64, 219-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(93)90323-S
  3. Baillie, J., and Groombridge, B. (1996). 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, Gland: IUCN.
  4. Burkey, T.V. (1989). Extinction in nature reserves: the effect of fragmentation and the importance of migration between reserve fragments. Oikos, 55, 75-81. https://doi.org/10.2307/3565875
  5. Choi, S.K., Chun, S., An, J., Lee, M.Y., Kim, H.J., Min, M.S., et al. (2015). Genetic diversity and population structure of the long-tailed goral, Naemorhedus caudatus, in South Korea. Genes and Genetic Systems, 90, 31-41. https://doi.org/10.1266/ggs.90.31
  6. Choi, T.Y., and Park, C.H. (2004). Korean groal potential habitat suitability model at Soraksan National Park using fuzzy set and multi-criteria evaluation. Journal of Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture, 32, 28-38.
  7. Choi, T.Y., and Park, C.H. (2005). Establishing a Korean goral (Nemorhaedus caudatus raddeanus Heude) reserve in Soraksan National Park, Korea: based on habitat suitability model, habitat capability model, and the concept of minimum viable population. Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture, 32, 23-35.
  8. Clement, M., Posada, D., and Crandall, K.A. (2000). TCS: a computer program to estimate gene genealogies. Molecular Ecology, 9, 1657-1659. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.01020.x
  9. Corbet, G.B., and Hill, J.E. (1992). The Mammals of the Indomalayan Region: a Systematic Review, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  10. Coulon, A., Cosson, J.F., Angibault, J.M., Cargnelutti, B., Galan, M., Morellet, N., et al. (2004). Landscape connectivity influences gene flow in a roe deer population inhabiting a fragmented landscape: an individual-based approach. Molecular Ecology, 13, 2841-2850. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02253.x
  11. Cultural Heritage Administration. (1999). A Report for Distribution and Ecological Studies of Korean Natural Monument, Goral and Musk Deer, Daejeon: Cultural Heritage Administration.
  12. Douzery, E., and Randi, E. (1997). The mitochondrial control region of Cervidae: evolutionary patterns and phylogenetic content. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 14, 1154-1166. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025725
  13. Felsenstein, J. (1985). Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. Evolution, 39, 783-791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2408678
  14. Frankham, R., Ballou, J.D., Briscoe, D.A., and McInness, K.H. (2002). Introduction to Conservation Genetics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  15. Fu, Y.X., and Li, W.H. (1993). Statistical tests of neutrality of mutations. Genetics, 133, 693-709. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/133.3.693
  16. Gerloff, U., Schlotterer, C., Rassmann, K., Rambold, I., Hohmann, G., Fruth, B., et al. (1995). Amplification of hypervariable simple sequence repeats (microsatellites) from excremental DNA of wild living bonobos (Pan paniscus). Molecular Ecology, 4, 515-518. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.1995.tb00247.x
  17. Groves, C.P., and Grubb, P. (1985). Reclassification of the serows and gorals (Nemorhaedus: Bovidae). In S. Lovari (Ed.), The Biology and Management of Mountain Ungulates (pp. 45-50). London: Croom Helm.
  18. Grubb, P. (1993). Order artiodactyla. In D.E. Wilson, and D.M., Reeder (Eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (pp. 377-414). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  19. Hall, T.A. (1999). BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT. Nucleic Acids Symposium Series, 41, 95-98.
  20. Hundertmark, K.J., Shields, G.F., Bowyer, R.T., and Schwartz, C.C. (2002). Genetic relationships deduced from cytochrome-b sequences among moose. Alces, 38, 113-122.
  21. Hutton, J., and Dickson, B. (2000). Endangered Species: Threatened Convention: The Past, Present and Future of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, London: Earthscan.
  22. Jang, J.E., Kim, N.H., Lim, S., Kim, K.Y., Lee, H.J., and Park, Y.C. (2020). Genetic integrity and individual identification-based population size estimate of the endangered long-tailed goral, Naemorhedus caudatus from Seoraksan National Park in South Korea, based on a non-invasive genetic approach. Animal Cells and Systems, 24, 171-179. https://doi.org/10.1080/19768354.2020.1784273
  23. Kimura, M. (1980). A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 16, 111-120. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01731581
  24. Kohn, M.H., and Wayne, R.K. (1997). Facts from feces revisited. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 12, 223-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(97)01050-1
  25. Kumar, S., Tamura, K., and Nei, M. (2004). MEGA3: integrated software for Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis and sequence alignment. Briefings in Bioinformatics, 5, 150-163. https://doi.org/10.1093/bib/5.2.150
  26. Lee, S., Kim, B.J., and Bhang, K.J. (2019). Habitat analysis of endangered Korean long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus raddeanus) with weather forecasting model. Sustainability, 11, 6086. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216086
  27. Ludt, C.J., Schroeder, W., Rottmann, O., and Kuehn, R. (2004). Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of red deer (Cervus elaphus). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 31, 1064-1083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.003
  28. Mead, J.I. (1989). Nemorhaedus goral. Mammalian Species, 335, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.2307/3504167
  29. Min, M.S., Okumura, H., Jo, D.J., An, J.H., Kim, K.S., Kim, C.B., et al. (2004). Molecular phylogenetic status of the Korean goral and Japanese serow based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Molecules and Cells, 17, 365-372.
  30. Ministry of Environment. (2002). New Technique for the Restoration of Endangered Species in Korea, Gwacheon: Ministry of Environment.
  31. Ministry of Environment. (2004). Wildlife Protection Act, Sejong: Ministry of Government Legislation.
  32. Nei, M. (1987). Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, New York: Columbia University Press.
  33. Nowak, R.M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  34. Parson, W., Pegoraro, K., Niederstatter, H., Foger, M., and Steinlechner, M. (2000). Species identification by means of the cytochrome b gene. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 114, 23-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004140000134
  35. Rozas, J., Sanchez-DelBarrio, J.C., Messeguer, X., and Rozas, R. (2003). DnaSP, DNA polymorphism analyses by the coalescent and other methods. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England), 19, 2496-2497. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btg359
  36. Saitou, N., and Nei, M. (1987). The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 4, 406-425.
  37. Soule, M.E., Alberts, A.C., and Bolger, D.T. (1992). The effects of habitat fragmentation on chaparral plants and vertebrates. Oikos, 63, 39-47. https://doi.org/10.2307/3545514
  38. Tajima, F. (1989). Statistical method for testing the neutral mutation hypothesis by DNA polymorphism. Genetics, 123, 585-595. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/123.3.585
  39. Taylor, P.D., Fahrig, L., Henein, K., and Merriam, G. (1993). Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure. Oikos, 68, 571-573. https://doi.org/10.2307/3544927
  40. von Dolan, J.M. (1963). [Beitrag zur systernatischen Gliederung des Tribus Rupicaprini Simpson, 1945]. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 1, 311-407. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.1963.tb00252.x
  41. Wehausen, J.D., Ramey, R.R., 2nd, and Epps, C.W. (2004). Experiments in DNA extraction and PCR amplification from bighorn sheep feces: the importance of DNA extraction method. Journal of Heredity, 95, 503-509. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esh068
  42. Yang, B.G. (2002). Systematics, ecology and current population status of the goral, Naemorhedus caudatus, in Korea. (Doctoral dissertation). Chungbuk National University, Cheongju.