Abstract
The Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is one of the most endangered Neotropical cervid with populations that have been drastically reduced to small and isolated ones, mainly because of its habitat destruction. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to analyze population divergence and genetic variation within and between two populations corresponding to distinct subspecies. The RAPD markers displayed substantial genetic variation with all animals possessing unique RAPD phenotypes over 105 polymorphic bands produced by 15 primers. An analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and a neighbor-joining cluster analysis were performed to assess levels of differentiation between populations. No differentiation was recorded and about 96.0% (P<0.00001) of the total variance was attributable to variation within populations. This result is quite distinct from data obtained by the analysis of the mtDNA control region, and is discussed on the basis of genetic differences between the different markers and the male-biased dispersal patterns generally observed in the mammal species. The data presented herein are potentially useful for future taxonomic and genetic studies in this species, for the monitoring of the genetic variation observed within these populations, and for the development of management guidelines for its conservation.
Highlights
The Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is a medium-size cervid that could be originally found in a vast area at the south-eastern part of South America occupying open habitats as grasslands, pampas, savannas, and cerrado (Brazil)
Despite the problems usually associated to its use, the Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique is still been applied in a variety of situations, especially in the study of those species where other kinds of nuclear markers, such as microsatellites, are not available
The most frequent use of RAPD marker is related to the analysis of intraespecific genetic variation and it has been applied in a variety of animal groups like rodents (Vucetich et al, 2001; Chiappero and Gardenal, 2003; Spiridonova et al, 2004), marsupials (Cooper, 2000), carnivores (Ratnayeke et al, 2002), and primates (Neveu et al, 1998)
Summary
The Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is a medium-size cervid that could be originally found in a vast area at the south-eastern part of South America (between 5° and 41° S) occupying open habitats as grasslands, pampas, savannas, and cerrado (Brazil). The largest population is found in Brazil, where at least 60,000 individuals are found in the Pantanal biome (Mourão et al, 2000). In other Brazilian sites and in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, it exists in small and isolated populations (Merino et al, 1997). There are five recognized Pampas deer subspecies. Leucogaster can be found from south-western Brazil, south-eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and north Argentina. González et al (2002), based on morphometric and genetic differences, proposed that populations from Uruguay should be considered as two separated subspecies, O. b. González et al (2002), based on morphometric and genetic differences, proposed that populations from Uruguay should be considered as two separated subspecies, O. b. uruguayensis and O. b. arerunguaensis
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