Genetic diversity of Indonesian protected eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) based on mitochondrial gene sequences

Abstract

Electus Parrot (Eclectus roratus) Bird is included in the group of parrots, the Psittacidae family, consists of nine subspecies. The body size is 35-42 cm, and its weight is 355–615 g. Eclectus bird has nine subspecies. Their distribution is in the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea, and its nearby islands, northeastern Australia, and the Maluku Islands (Moluccas). Seven of these subspecies are in the territory of Indonesia. The wild population is in decline. The species has been included in CITES appendix II. Like other parrot birds, this bird has high economic value, so its existence needs to be conserved for use sustainably. Information about its genetic diversity might be useful for its conservation program. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the genetic diversity of these birds revealed based on 720 bp of DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytB gene. This information might be needed for their conservation efforts. Blood samples of 0.1 mL were taken from 103 birds in the zoo and two captivities. The total genomic DNA was extracted from each blood sample. DNA fragments of mitochondrial cytB gene were amplified through a PCR process and then the nucleotide was sequenced. The DNA sequence data of the cytB gene were analyzed using ProSeq, DnaSP, and Mega7specific software to obtain information about variations, genetic diversity, and grouping of individual birds. The cyt B sequences observed had no stop codons. Of the 720 cytB base pairs had no stop condons observed. There were eight variable sites starting at 212 to 616 position. Genetic distance among individual birdsranged from 0,000 to 0.012. The sequences had three haplotypes. Based on the comparison to E. roratus from Genbank data as well as NJ tree, it was suggested that the studied birds consisted of three subspecies. Haplotype diversity (Hd) value was 0.500 ± 0.136 and nucleotide diversity (Pi) value was 0.004431 ± 0.00140. Hence, the genetic diversity among the birds in this study was relatively low.