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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #134531
Title: GENETIC VARIATION IN CARIBOU AND REINDEER (RANGIFER TARANDUS)

Author
item CRONIN, M - LGL ALASKA RES ASSOC INC
item PATTON, J - TEXAS A&M UNIV
item BALMYSHEVA, N - RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCI
item Macneil, Michael

Submitted to: Animal Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2002
Publication Date: 2/1/2003
Citation: CRONIN, M.A., PATTON, J.C., BALMYSHEVA, N., MACNEIL, M.D. GENETIC VARIATION IN CARIBOU AND REINDEER (RANGIFER TARANDUS). ANIMAL GENETICS. 2003. v. 34. p. 33-41.

Interpretive Summary: The relationship between wild caribou and domestic reindeer is of interest due to the potential for the domestic stock to influence the fitness of wild populations and the potential for wild populations to contribute to the performance of domestic herds. The relationship among wild herds is also of interest due to the consideration of population structure on management of natural resources. Microsatellite DNA markers were used to quantify genetic relationships among geographically dispersed populations of reindeer and caribou. The three herds of arctic Alaskan caribou sampled were interrelated and more closely related to each other than to Alaskan Reindeer or Canadian caribou populations. The data suggest there has been relatively little migration between domestic and wild populations in Alaska. Genetic migration among wild populations appears to be associated with the geographic distance between them. Thus, herds whose ranges overlap are unlikely to constitute distinct genetic populations.

Technical Abstract: Genetic variation at seven microsatellite DNA loci was quantified in 19 herds of caribou and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) from North America, Scandinavia, and Russia. There is an average of 2.0 to 6.6 alleles per locus and observed individual heterozygosity of 0.33-0.50 in most herds. A herd on Svalbard Island, Scandanavia is an exception, with relatively few alleles and low heterozygosity. The Central Arctic, Western Arctic, and Porcupine River caribou herds in Alaska have similar allele frequencies and comprise one interbreeding population. Reindeer in Alaska originated from transplants from Siberia, Russia, more than 100 years ago. Reindeer in Alaska and Siberia have significantly different allele frequencies at several loci, but low genetic distances compared to Alaska caribou. Wild caribou and domestic reindeer in Alaska have significantly different allele frequencies at all seven loci, although some introgression of alleles may have occurred over the last 100 years.