Rescued back from extinction in the wild: past, present and future of the genetics of the Arabian oryx in Oman.

Qais Al Rawahi,Mansoor H Aljahdhami,Mehar S Khatkar,Mohammed A Al Abri,Jose Luis Mijangos,Helen Senn,Jennifer Kaden,Jaime Gongora,Katherine Brittain

doi:10.1098/rsos.210558

Abstract

The Arabian oryx was the first species to be rescued from extinction in the wild by the concerted efforts of captive programmes in zoos and private collections around the world. Reintroduction efforts have used two main sources: the ‘World Herd’, established at the Phoenix Zoo, and private collections in Saudi Arabia. The breeding programme at the Al-Wusta Wildlife Reserve (WWR) in Oman has played a central role in the rescue of the oryx. Individuals from the ‘World Herd’ and the United Arab Emirates have been the main source for the WWR programme. However, no breeding strategies accounting for genetic diversity have been implemented. To address this, we investigated the diversity of the WWR population and historical samples using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found individuals at WWR contain 58% of the total mtDNA diversity observed globally. Inference of ancestry and spatial patterns of SNP variation shows the presence of three ancestral sources and three different groups of individuals. Similar levels of diversity and low inbreeding were observed between groups. We identified individuals and groups that could most effectively contribute to maximizing genetic diversity. Our results will be valuable to guide breeding and reintroduction programmes at WWR.

Highlights

The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is currently described as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species [1]
Here, we investigated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) CR sequences and whole genome Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-sequencing) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 138 Arabian oryx individuals held at the Wusta Wildlife Reserve (WWR) in Oman and 36 historical samples
A total of 24 polymorphic sites were found across the sequences of the Arabian oryx population in Oman which resulted in nine haplotypes

Summary

Introduction

The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is currently described as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species [1]. It is an ungulate [2] that became extinct in the wild in 1972 [3]. Conservation efforts rescued the Arabian oryx from a complete extinction through the establishment of successful breeding and reintroduction programmes in the Arabian Peninsula [4]. Conservation efforts in other parts of the world included the establishment of the ‘World Herd’ in the Phoenix Zoo (USA) using the last remaining wild individuals which were captured during ‘Operation Oryx’ in 1962 and those donated by Arabian rulers [5] consisting of nine individuals from Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Yemen. Management details were not recorded (or published), and captive breeding was not implemented using individual genetic management through minimizing population mean kinship

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Results

Conclusion