DNA fingerprinting and the problems of paternity determination in an inbred captive population of guinea baboons (Papio hamadryas papio)

Multilocus DNA fingerprinting was carried out on 65 individuals from a captive colony of guinea baboons (Papio hamadryas papio) at Brookfield Zoo, in order to determine the allocation of reproductive success among 7 active males. DNA fingerprinting was found to reveal very low levels of genetic variability in the study population, rendering discrimination of different levels of relatedness, and hence paternity, impossible. A method was therefore developed for emphasizing the region of the fingerprint pattern which revealed the greatest level of band variability, and the effect of this experimental modification on band sharing statistics was tested. Band sharing coefficients among unrelated individuals were significantly lower using the modified system, which was then applied to paternity testing in the whole population. However even when using the modified system, of the 33 offspring analyzed only 4 could be assigned solely to 1 male, 14 offspring were assigned to 1 of 2 males, 7 offspring had 3 potential fathers, and the remainder had 4 or more possible fathers. The implications of the limitations of these data for behavioural studies and genetic management of captive populations are discussed.