Mitochondrial DNA control region variability in wild boars from west Balkans

Abstract

The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is one of most abundant game species in hunting areas of Balkan region. The large fraction of pre-glacial genetic diversity in wild boar populations from the Balkans was addressed due to high proportion of unique mtDNA haplotypes found in Greece, indicating Balkan as main refugial area for wild boars. The aim of the present study is to characterize mitochondrial DNA control region variability in wild boars from different areas in the West Balkan region, in order to evaluate level of genetic variability, to detect unique haplotypes and to infer possible structuring. The total number of 163 individuals from different sampling localities were included in the study. A fragment of the mtDNA control region was amplified and sequenced by standard procedures. Population genetic analyses were performed using several computer packages: BioEdit, ARLEQUIN 3.5.1.2., Network 4.6.0.0 and MEGA5. Eleven different haplotypes were identified and haplotype diversity was 0.676, nucleotide diversity 0.0026, and the average number of nucleotide differences (k) 1.169. The mismatch distribution and neutrality tests indicated the expansion of the all populations. It is shown that high level of genetic diversity is present in the wild boars from the West Balkan region and we have managed to detect regional unique haplotypes in high frequency. Genetic diversity differences have been found in regional wild boar groups, clustering them in two main clusters, but further speculations on the reasons for the observed clustering are prevented due to restricted informativness of the single locus marker. Obtained knowledge of genetic variation in the wild boar may be relevant for improving knowledge of the phylogeny and phylogeography of the wild boars, but as well as for hunting societies and responsible authorities for the effective control of wild boar populations

Genetic Population Structure of Wild Boars (Sus scrofa) in Fukushima Prefecture

“…In general, the distribution of wild boar populations is considered to have been influenced by climate change, but also landscape change due to human activity, such as agriculture and forestry [ 3 ]. A study of genetic population structure in wild boars inhabiting the Gunma Prefecture [ 21 ] showed that landscape factors, such as main rivers, roads, urban areas, and train networks, can be boundaries for wild boar populations.…”

“…Recently, some mammals, such as deer and wild boar, have expanded their population size and their habitats expand closer to human dwellings, resulting in damage to agriculture, forestry, and ecosystems in Japan [ 1 , 2 ]. Wild boars are naturally distributed in Asia, Europe, and northern Africa [ 3 ], and two subspecies are distributed in Japan as follows: The Japanese wild boar ( Sus scrofa leucomystax ) and the Ryukyu wild boar ( Sus scrofa riukiuanus ). The Japanese wild boar (hereafter referred to as “wild boar”) is widely distributed in mainland Japan, including Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands, except for the north Tohoku district [ 4 ] ( Figure 1 ).…”

Contact Zone of Asian and European Wild Boar at North West of Iran

“…The evolutionary history and genetics of wild boar have received much attention [ 1 , 2 , 5 – 15 ] because of the animals’ importance in ecological and economic roles in human life and natural ecosystems [ 16 ]. Phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity of wild boar are well understood in Europe and East Asia [ 15 , 17 , 18 ] and the results indicate that pigs may be derived from two maternal origins: Asian and European wild boars.…”

“…Unfortunately, despite the extensive studies, information about the genetics of Iranian wild boars are mainly limited to the studies of Ottoni et al [ 20 ] and Larson et al [ 10 , 19 ]; in other words, Iranian wild boar phylogenetic still remains challenging. It is obvious that animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a useful marker [ 26 , 27 ] which has been frequently used to estimate the genetic diversity and relationships between closely related species and within species, such as wild boar across Eurasia [ 15 , 20 , 28 – 30 ]. mtDNA is highly polymorphic, almost exclusively maternally inherited and without genetic recombination [ 21 , 31 , 32 ]; therefore, the mtDNA control region can be applied to clarify the phylogeny and genetic variation of wild boar in Iran.…”

Management and Income of the Economically Most Important Game Species of Serbia

“…The abundance index of wild boar in the last year of research compared to basic 2011 shows the increase in the population by even 33.53%. The results of the other authors also indicate the increasing abundance in wild boar for which one of the reasons could be a discrepancy between a planned and realized shooting (Djan et al, 2013;Lavadinović et al, 2020). The research in the 1980-2000 period showed that the trend of shooting rate in wild boar is parabolic with shooting rate decreasing by 1% annually (Ranković and Popović, 2002).…”