Captive breeding of pangolins: current status,problems and future prospects

Pangolins are unique placental mammals with eight species existing in the world, which have adapted to a highly specialized diet of ants and termites, and are of significance in the control of forest termite disaster. Besides their ecological value, pangolins are extremely important economic animals with the value as medicine and food. At present, illegal hunting and habitat destruction have drastically decreased the wild population of pangolins, pushing them to the edge of extinction. Captive breeding is an important way to protect these species, but because of pangolin’s specialized behaviors and high dependence on natural ecosystem, there still exist many technical barriers to successful captive breeding programs. In this paper, based on the literatures and our practical experience, we reviewed the status and existing problems in captive breeding of pangolins, including four aspects, the naturalistic habitat, dietary husbandry, reproduction and disease control. Some recommendations are presented for effective captive breeding and protection of pangolins.     

Molecular delineation of the Y-borne Sry gene in the Formosan pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) and its phylogenetic implications for Pholidota in extant mammals

The systematic status of Pholidota has been a matter of debate, particularly regarding the apparent inconsistency between morphological and molecular studies. The Sry gene, a master regulator of male sex determination in eutherian mammals, has not yet been used for phylogenetic analyses of extant mammals. The objective of the present study was to clone and characterize the complete gene (1300 base pairs; bp) and amino acid sequences (229 residues) of Sry from the Formosan pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla), a member of Pholidota. The Sry amino acid identity between pangolin and other reported species ranged from 42.5% (mouse, Mus musculus) to 84.1% (European hare, Lepus europaeus). Sequence conservation was primarily in the high motility group (HMG) box (234 bp), whereas homology outside the HMG box was low. The cloned Sry was mapped to the pangolin Y chromosome by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); this was confirmed to be the first Y-borne molecular marker identified in Pholidota. Based on Bayesian phylogenetic analysis for Sry HMG sequences from 36 representative taxa, including the Formosan pangolin, Pholidota was more closely related to Carnivora than to Xenarthra, consistent with the emerging molecular tree inferred from markers not located on the Y chromosome. In conclusion, this study characterized the gene structure of Sry of the Formosan pangolin and provided insights into the phylogenetic position of Pholidota.     

广东省穿山甲种群数量调查与资源蕴藏量

20 0 0年 1 2月至 2 0 0 1年 3月 ,利用“洞口记数法”对大雾岭自然保护区穿山甲华南亚种的种群密度与种群数量进行了调查 ,结果表明 :保护区内穿山甲的种群数量为 65 2 7～1 5 6 5 9头 ,平均密度为 1 85～ 4 43ind /km2 ;不同栖息生境穿山甲的种群平均密度为 2 46～ 5 90ind /km2 ,密度大小依次为针阔混交林 >阔叶林 >灌木林 >针叶林。各栖息生境的洞口密度平均为 5 1 39± 1 8 31个 /km2 ,以针阔混交林的洞口密度最大 ,其次是阔叶林和灌木林 ,最小的是针叶林 ,且洞口密度大小存在极显著差异 (F =1 6 96>F0 0 1 ,3/30 =4 5 1>F0 0 1 ,3/36)。根据保护区内穿山甲的密度值 ,估计广东全省穿山甲的资源量为 1 42 73 0 9± 5 863 79头。     

中国穿山甲有丝分裂染色体和减数分裂联会复合体（SC）的研究

中国穿山甲（Manis pentadactyla）的细胞遗传学分析表明,染色体数目2n=40。除着丝粒C带外,还有染色体端部C带和插入性C带。两对小的端着丝粒染色体的随体部位有银染核仁组织者（Ag-NORs）。本文对穿山甲核型的多态性以及减数分裂联会复合体的结构,性染色（X,Y）在减数分裂前期的行为进行了分析和讨论。     

Monitoring the gestation period of rescued Formosan pangolin (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) with progesterone radioimmunoassay

Eight species of pangolin have been identified in the world. However, understanding of pangolin reproductive biology has been limited to fragmentary records. In this study, the concentration of serum progesterone in three pregnant and two nonpregnant rescued female Formosan pangolins (Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla) was monitored using a commercial progesterone radioimmunoassay kit. During gestation, the serum progesterone of pregnant pangolins A, B, and C remained at 28.5–55 ng/ml (n = 31 samples), 10.9–50.1 ng/ml (n = 34), and 12.4 and 33.5 ng/ml with a peak at 47.6 ng/ml (n = 19), respectively, whereas the serum progesterone of nonpregnant pangolins D and E remained at 1.99 ± 1.62 ng/ml (n = 80) and 2.27 ± 1.64 ng/ml (n = 27), respectively. From this study, it was found that female pangolin weighing as low as 2.14 kg was already capable of reproduction. For pregnant pangolins to give birth to viable offspring, their body weight must increase significantly, 63.89 and 134.0% in the study, from the time of inception or early pregnancy until parturition. In addition, study has found that both viable offspring were born fully developed and exceeded 80 g in weight. The period of gestation was found to be as short as 318 or longer than 372 days. Therefore, the Formosan pangolin should only be able to reproduce once a year. This study is the first insight into hormone assay for determining the gestation period of pangolin. Further investigations on the same subject are necessary to establish criteria for the recognition of reproductive status in pangolins. Zoo Biol 31:479–489, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

微卫星标记在穿山甲个体识别中的应用

在对非法走私和捕杀穿山甲的犯罪案件研究中,所涉及的穿山甲个体数量是量刑的重要依据,然而对于一些穿山甲鳞片、肉块及其深加工产品,从形态学上却无法进行个体识别。微卫星标记已证实是一种用于动物个体识别的可靠的遗传标记。本研究从已发表的34对穿山甲微卫星引物中筛选出6对多态性较高的引物,用于穿山甲鳞片的个体识别。结果表明:6个位点的观测值杂合度(Ho)为0.653-0.234;期望值杂合度(He)为0.926-0.861;MJA03的PIC最高(0.918),MJA13的PIC最低(0.852),平均PIC为0.884。单个座位的个体识别能力在0.826-0.956之间,累积个体识别能力为99.9999%,表明采用的6个位点适用于国内穿山甲走私案中的个体识别。     

Comparative study of gut microbiota from captive and confiscated-rescued wild pangolins

Pangolins are among the most critically endangered animals due to widespread poaching and worldwide trafficking. Captive breeding is considered to be one way to protect them and increase the sizes of their populations. However, comparative studies of captive and wild pangolins in the context of gut microbiota are rare. Here, the gut microbiome of captive and confiscated-rescued wild pangolins is compared, and the effects of different periods of captivity and captivity with and without antibiotic treatment are considered. We show that different diets and periods of captivity, as well as the application of antibiotic therapy, can alter gut community composition and abundance in pangolins. Compared to wild pangolins, captive pangolins have an increased capacity for chitin and cellulose/hemicellulose degradation, fatty acid metabolism, and short-chain fatty acid synthesis, but a reduced ability to metabolize exogenous substances. In addition to increasing the ability of the gut microbiota to metabolize nutrients in captivity, captive breeding imposes some risks for survival by resulting in a greater abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors in captive pangolins than in wild pangolins. Our study is important for the development of guidelines for pangolin conservation, including health assessment, disease prevention, and rehabilitation of wild pangolin populations.     

穿山甲标本和甲片的DNA提取及PCR扩增

为验证经处理后的穿山甲(Manis spp.)标本和甲片是否可以用于种间分子鉴定标记的开发及个体识别工作,本文在样品的预处理、消化、提取后纯化等方面对传统提取方法进行了改进,分别从穿山甲剥制标本、干皮标本及甲片中提取总DNA;然后用Cyt b基因扩增通用引物、12S rRNA基因全序列扩增引物、RAPD引物及微卫星引物进行了PCR扩增,并对部分扩增结果进行了序列测定.结果表明,除剥制标本的脚底皮张组织外,其他样品基本都可以提取出DNA.以此为模板的PCR扩增中,2种线粒体基因引物扩增出明显目的条带,RAPD引物扩增出种间特异条带,测序结果可用于种间特异性引物及SCAR引物的开发;微卫星引物在甲片样品中扩增稳定,可用于个体识别工作.     

家蚕Wnt信号通路下游关键基因Pangolin转录剪接体X3的克隆和分析

【目的】克隆家蚕Bombyx mori Wnt信号通路下游关键基因Pangolin isoforms A/H/I/S转录剪接体X3 (Pangolin X3),分析其序列和表达特征。【方法】从NCBI数据库检索家蚕Pangolin X3,根据其编码序列(coding sequence, CDS)设计引物,利用PCR从家蚕幼虫中肠和血淋巴中进行克隆并测序验证。利用SilkDB 3.0, SMART,多序列比对和系统发育树分析Pangolin X3的序列特征。利用qRT-PCR分析Pangolin X3在家蚕5龄第3天幼虫不同组织(头、血淋巴、体壁、性腺、中肠、前部丝腺、中部丝腺、后部丝腺、脂肪体和马氏管)中的相对表达水平。【结果】从家蚕幼虫中肠和血淋巴克隆了Pangolin X3(GenBank登录号：XM＿038020921)的CDS,其开放阅读框长1 560 bp,编码519个氨基酸残基,预测分子量为55.86 kD,预测等电点为7.53。Pangolin X3蛋白含有保守的β-catenin结合位点和HMG结构域,其氨基酸序列在不同的昆虫中比较保守,特别是与DNA结合的HMG结构域...