Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2013
The genetic structure of the Lithuanian wolf population
Baltrunaite L, Balciauskas L, Åkesson MAbstract
Lithuanian wolves form part of the larger Baltic population, the distribution of which is continuous across the region. In this paper, we evaluate the genetic diversity of the Lithuanian wolf population using mitochondrial DNA analysis and 29 autosomal microsatellite loci. Analysis of the mtDNA control region (647 bp) revealed 5 haplotypes distributed among 29 individuals and high haplotype diversity (0.658). Two haplotypes were distributed across the country, whilst the others were restricted to eastern Lithuania. Analysis of microsatellites revealed high heterozygosity (H-E=0.709) and no evidence for a recent bottleneck. Using detection of first generation migrants, four individuals appeared to assign better with populations genetically differentiated from those resident in Lithuania. These immigrants were males carrying rare mitochondrial haplotypes and were encountered in the eastern part of the country, this indicates that Lithuania is subject to immigration from differentiated populations. Additionally, we did not detect any signs of recent hybridisation with dogs.Keywords
Canis lupus; Genetic structure; Lithuania; Microsatellites; Mitochondrial DNAPublished in
Central European Journal of Biology2013, volume: 8, number: 5, pages: 440-447
Authors' information
Baltrunaite, Laima
Balciauskas, Linas
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
UKÄ Subject classification
Zoology
Genetics
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11535-013-0154-9
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/52120