High Genetic Variability of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus L.) Population from Croatia as Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Control Region Sequences

Abstract

Tomislav Gomercic, Magda Sindicic, Ana Galov, Haidi Arbanasic, Josip Kusak, Ivna Kocijan, Martina Đuras Gomercic, and Đuro Huber (2010) High genetic variability of the grey wolf (Canis lupus L.) population from Croatia as revealed by mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. Zoological Studies 49(6): 816-823. Declines of grey wolf (Canis lupus L.) populations in Europe began some 250 yr ago, eventually leading to the almost-complete eradication of wolves from Western Europe. As a consequence, the majority of the remaining populations today exhibit unique haplotypes. A population in the Dinaric Mountains survived the eradication, and represents the closest stable wolf gene pool to the Western Europe. The grey wolf in Croatia reached the edge of extinction in the beginning of the 1990s, while during the last 10 yr, an increase in the population size was observed, and in 2008, it was estimated at around 200 individuals. We analyzed a 281 bp portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region of 91 grey wolf samples from Croatia. Totally, 4 haplotypes with 11 polymorphic sites were identified, with a haplotype diversity of 0.711 ± 0.018. One haplotype is new and has heretofore not been registered in any grey wolf population worldwide. The Croatian wolf population has one of the highest levels of mtDNA variability recorded to date, and probably retains a significant proportion of the genetic diversity of the formerly widespread and continuous European wolf population. Therefore, the Croatian wolf population is a valuable source of genetic diversity, which through immigration could help restore populations with reduced variability. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/49.6/816.pdf