Population Genetic Structure of the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the Carpathian Basin

Abstract

In the Carpathian Basin the wild boar (Sus scrofa) belongs among the most important game species both ecologically and economically, therefore knowing more about the basics of the genetics of the species is a key factor for accurate and sustainable management of its population. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic diversity and to elucidate the genetic structure and location of wild boar populations in the Carpathian Basin. A total of 486 samples were collected and genotyped using 13 STR markers. The number of alleles varied between 4 and 14, at 9 of the 13 loci the observed heterozygosity was significantly different (p < 0.05) from the expected value, showing remarkable introgression in the population. The population was separated into two groups, with an Fst value of 0.03, suggesting the presence of two subpopulations. The first group included 147 individuals from the north-eastern part of Hungary, whereas the second group included 339 samples collected west and south of the first group. The two subpopulations’ genetic indices are roughly similar. The lack of physical barriers between the two groups indicates that the genetic difference is most likely caused by the high reproduction rate and large home range of the wild boars, or by some genetic traces’ having been preserved from both the last ice age and the period before the Hungarian water regulation.

Shall the Wild Boar Pass? A Genetically Assessed Ecological Corridor in the Geneva Region

“…In congruence with our results, analogous studies on wild boar population structures at the landscape scale found no genetic differentiation resulting from motorway separation [29,78,79], with fencing since 2004 [29] and with >20,000 average users/day [29,78]. It was suggested that genetic clustering effects were rather due to isolation-by-distance [30], or to the species' characteristics or recolonization history [31].…”

“…On the one hand, it was shown that motorways in Belgium and Lithuania did not represent a significant limitation to gene flow (i.e., migration between regions with successful reproduction) [28,29]. Two studies suggest that most of clustering effects were due to characteristics and recolonization history of the species [30], or to the isolation-by-distance [31], rather than to the landscape features or the urbanization coverage. On the other hand, a Sardinian study highlighted the clustering's effect caused by a quasi-impervious motorway, and to a lesser degree, by urbanized and cultivated areas [32].…”

Genetic Structure of the Root Vole Microtus oeconomus: Resistance of the Habitat Specialist to the Natural Fragmentation of Preferred Moist Habitats

“…The most widely used molecular markers are microsatellites (short 2–5 base-pair, repeating sequences of DNA) due to their high polymorphism and possibility of amplification from a small amount of tissue [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. As in the case of other species [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], sets of microsatellite markers for the root vole have been developed and tested [ 23 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

Genetic diversity of the Central European wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) population and domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) breeds based on a microsatellite DNA locus

“…In this regard, the study of wild boar genetics is now receiving much attention, both in Russia and other countries (Gladyr et al, 2009;Zinovieva et al, 2013;Rębała et al, 2016;Mihalik et al, 2020). In addition, due to constant outbreaks of the African swine fever (Pestis africana suum) in Russia, the wild boars are regularly shot as potential carriers of this disease.…”