inbreeding Archives - The Silver Ink

According to a new study on the Sub-species of gorilla on the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo it is found that these species execute inbredding.

The study sequenced the whole genome of gorilla that belongs to G. beringei species in the volcanic region of Virunga in the eastern lowlands.

The team sequenced the genes of the gorillas in eastern lowland.

They compared the genome of the species of eastern lowland gorilla and western lowland gorillas and they found that the eastern lowland gorilla has genetic diversity which is the characteristics of inbreeding.

In 2012, western lowland gorilla’s first genome was established from the DNA, this gorilla is female gorilla named Kamilah.

“Three years on from sequencing the gorilla reference genome, we can now compare the genomes of all gorilla populations, including the critically endangered mountain gorilla, and begin to understand their similarities and differences, and the genetic impact of inbreeding,” said Chris Tyler-Smith, co-auther from the Sangar Institute.

The number of mountain gorillas decline to 250 in 80s in the Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda region.

Since then efforts were made to increase this number and successfully this number rose to 480.

Aylwyn Scally, geneticist from the University of Cambridge“Mountain gorillas are critically endangered and at risk of extinction, and our study reveals that as well as suffering a dramatic collapse in numbers during the last century, they had already experienced a long decline going back many thousands of years.”

Scientists say that inbreeding is dangerous because it may result in genetic mutations which are harmful and it reduces the ability to adapt to the environment, but their study revealed quite opposite to what was believed.

They didn’t found any mutations in their genes which were harmful.

Scally said, “We have shown that although low in genetic diversity they have not yet crossed any genetic threshold of no return.”

The findings revealed that gorillas can continue to survive and they can also grow in large numbers if supported.

Mountain Gorillas are endangered species, a number of studies have been done on them, and the most recent study provided insights into conservation and inbreeding habits.

The study sequenced the entire genome of the animal and the study revealed the genetic impacts.

Chris Tyler-Smith, co-author from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute said, “Mountain gorillas are among the most intensively studied primates in the wild, but this is the first in-depth, whole-genome analysis, three years on from sequencing the gorilla reference genome, we can now compare the genomes of all gorilla populations, including the critically endangered mountain gorilla, and begin to understand their similarities and differences, and the genetic impact of inbreeding.”

The population of mountain gorillas dropped to 253 in Virunga volcanic mountain range, located along the border of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1980’s as a result of hunting and habitat destruction.

Since then conservatives have managed to get the population to 480.

The researchers wanted to study if any genetic mutation have occurred in the small population of gorillas but they were surprised to see a number of harmful mutations were removed.

Aylwyn Scally, co-author from the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge said, “This new understanding of genetic diversity and demographic history among gorilla populations provides us with valuable insight into how apes and humans, their closely related cousins, adapt genetically to living in small populations, in these data we can observe the process by which genomes are purged of severely deleterious mutations by a small population size.”

The researchers have collected blood samples of gorilla over several year periods and sequenced the entire genome of seven mountain gorillas.

They found that these gorillas were two or three times less genetically diverse than other gorilla population found in central and western Africa.

They also found that gorillas have been surviving in small population since thousands of years.

The researchers were worried that the decline in 1980’s is not good for gorilla but the study has revealed that they are coping in small population for thousands of years.

The findings were published in journal Science.

Scientists map DNA of mountain gorillas

Endangered mountain gorillas survive by inbreeding

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