Phylogeny of the caniform carnivora: evidence from multiple genes

The monophyletic group Caniformia in the order Carnivora currently comprises seven families whose relationships remain contentious. The phylogenetic positions of the two panda species within the Caniformia have also been evolutionary puzzles over the past decades, especially for Ailurus fulgens (the red panda). Here, new nuclear sequences from two introns of the β-fibrinogen gene (β-fibrinogen introns 4 and 7) and a complete mitochondrial (mt) gene (ND2) from 17 caniform representatives were explored for their utilities in resolving higher-level relationships in the Caniformia. In addition, two previously available nuclear (IRBP exon 1 and TTR intron 1) data sets were also combined and analyzed simultaneously with the newly obtained sequence data in this study. Combined analyses of four nuclear and one mt genes (4417 bp) recover a branching order in which almost all nodes were strongly supported. The present analyses provide evidence in favor of Ailurus fulgens as the closest taxon to the procyonid-mustelid (i.e., Musteloidea sensu stricto) clade, followed by pinnipeds (i.e., Otariidae and Phocidae), Ursidae (including Ailuropoda melanoleuca), and Canidae, the most basal lineage in the Caniformia. The potential utilities of different genes in the context of caniform phylogeny were also evaluated, with special attention to the previously unexplored β-fibrinogen intron 4 and 7 genes.     

兰渝高速公路和兰渝铁路对大熊猫活动及其栖息地保护的影响

加快公路、铁路等重大基础交通设施建设是当前扩大内需促进经济增长的一项重要举措.这些基础设施建设将可能对某些珍稀濒危物种产生负面的生态影响.通过实地样方调查和访问调查,初步分析与评价了兰渝高速公路、兰渝铁路的建设与运营对大熊猫活动及其栖息地保护的影响.虽然它们的建设与运营不会影响岷山山系的大熊猫,但将会影响到西秦岭山系青木川+曹家河栖息地的大熊猫.它们不仅由于穿越大熊猫的潜在栖息地而使其栖息地的破碎化加剧,还进一步孤立了青木川+曹家河栖息地的大熊猫种群.然而,现有的公路S206线与大团鱼河等地理障碍所造成的隔离,又使兰渝高速公路和兰渝铁路的建设与运营实际追加的对周边大熊猫种群的隔离影响并不大.由于东北侧临近大熊猫栖息地,道路建设和运营所产生的各种噪音还将可能会影响大熊猫种群在局部区域的活动与扩散.为了更好地保护大熊猫种群及其栖息地,就兰渝高速公路和兰渝铁路的建设提出了相应的管理建议.     

Thirty-three microsatellite loci for noninvasive genetic studies of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Limited microsatellite markers useable in noninvasive genetic methods have hampered the studies of dispersal patterns and mating systems of giant pandas. Therefore, we describe in this paper the characterization of 15 novel microsatellite loci from genomic DNA-enriched libraries and 18 redesigned microsatellite loci from published papers on the giant panda. The number of alleles per locus in 60 individuals ranged from 2 to 13, the average observed heterozygosity per locus from 0.168 to 0.800, and the average expected heterozygosity per locus from 0.152 to 0.882. All loci followed Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Four pairs of significant linkage association were found among all these loci. Moreover, the 33 microsatellite loci showed high amplification successes rate in noninvasive samples, which indicated that these loci will be of use in studying dispersal patterns and mating systems of giant pandas using noninvasive genetic methods.     

Isolation and characterization of 12 novel microsatellite loci for the red panda (Ailurus fulgens)

The information on dispersal patterns and mating systems of red pandas is quite important for the understanding of the genetic diversity and divergence of this species. And microsatellite marker is an ideal tool to analyze dispersal patterns and mating systems. Thus, we describe in this paper the isolation and characterization of 12 microsatellite loci in the red panda from genomic DNA-enriched libraries. These loci were highly polymorphic with numbers of alleles per locus in 24 individuals ranging from 2 to 14, observed heterozygosity from 0.143 to 0.864 and expected heterozygosity from 0.297 to 0.872. All loci except for RP6 locus followed Hardy–Weinberg expectations. No significant linkage association was found among all these loci. The 12 novel polymorphic microsatellite loci will be of use in studying dispersal patterns and mating systems of red pandas.     

蜂桶寨自然保护区小熊猫巢域初步研究

2002年5~11月,在蜂桶寨自然保护区利用无线电遥测技术对6只小熊猫的巢域利用进行了初步研究。结果表明,6只戴颈圈个体M1、M2、M3、F1、F2、F3的巢域面积分别为330·26hm~2、135·18hm~2、190·67hm~2、98·23hm~2、141·60hm~2、204·80hm~2;雄性个体平均巢域面积为218·70hm~2,雌性个体为148·21hm~2。小熊猫个体间巢域重叠普遍,平均重叠率达25·33%,其中雄性个体之间为26·00%,雌性个体之间为23·67%,两性个体之间为25·67%。可能受人为干扰的影响,M1在6只监测个体中巢域面积、日均移动距离均为最大。     

大熊猫的刻板行为及其矫正对策——丰富圈养环境举措

由于生活环境单一、活动空间狭小等阻碍了正常行为的表达,圈养大熊猫经常发生一种谓之“刻板行为”的机械、呆板行为。所谓刻板行为,是指圈养大熊猫无明显目的的、不变的、以固定频率反复重复的无任何功能效果的简单行为。丰富圈养环境举措(环境富集)是矫正刻板行为的一种重要的行之有效的对策。介绍了圈养大熊猫刻板行为的表现、特点、发生机制及富集化矫正对策。     

Sequencing,annotation and comparative analysis of nine BACs of the giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

A 10-fold BAC library for the giant panda was constructed and nine BACs were selected to generate finish sequences.These BACs could be used as a validation resource for the de novo assembly accuracy of the whole genome shotgun sequencing reads of the giant panda newly generated by Illumina GA sequencing technology.Complete Sanger sequencing,assembly,annotation and comparative analysis were carried out on the selected BACs of a joint length 878 kb.Homologue search and de novo prediction methods were used to ...     

大熊猫及其近缘种rDNA序列变异和系统进化关系

应用ｒＤＮＡ间隔区Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ转换技术研究大熊猫及其近缘种的分子系统关系。通过比较大熊猫、小熊猫、黑熊、马来熊、浣熊和猞猁的ｒＤＮＡ间隔区限制性内切酶图谱,用最大似然法和简约法构建它们的分子系统树。结果表明大熊猫与熊具有较近的亲缘关系,与小熊猫和浣熊的亲缘关系较远。     

Sox and Zfx genes in giant panda

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