Genetic structure of chukar partridge ( Alectoris chukar) populations in the Longdong Loess Plateau, China

This study used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dideoxy direct sequencing methods to analyze the genetic structure of the chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar) in the Longdong Loess Plateau, northwestern China. A total of 491 nucleotides of mitochondrial DNA from the control region gene were sequenced for 78 chukar partridges from eight different populations. The 24 variable positions defined 25 haplotypes. The high gene flow (Nm=3.75) implied little genetic differentiation between the eight populations. All the populations shared the haplotype C_1, which suggested that they all came from a common ancestor. The 25 haplotypes were spread through the populations, but could be clustered into two groups. The haplotype similar index between the two groups was only 0.15, with a genetic distance of 0.43%. The genetic variation was significantly different between the two groups, which had been isolated for all of recorded history. The genetic structure of chukar partridge populations in the Plateau appears to be the result of the synergistic effect of a glacier, along with debris flow and human activities since the middle of the Pleistocene.Communicated by F. Bairlein