Ababaikeri, Buweihailiqiemu ， Ning Liqun ， Eli, Subinur ， Ismayil, Zorigul ， Halik, Mahmut
2019-09-01 ACTA ZOOLOGICA BULGARICA 2019 71(卷), 3(期), (407-416页)
Goitered gazelle Gazella subgutturosa is an important ungulate animal inhabiting the desert and semi-desert areas from the Arabian Peninsula across the Middle East to Central Asia. Globally, the population size of goitred gazelle has dropped sharply due to the influence of natural factors and habitat fragmentation. To understand the genetic diversity and structure of goitred gazelle in Xinjiang, north-western China, we collected 153 samples from five geographic populations by using ten polymorphic microsatellite markers. The studied goitered gazelles exhibited low level of genetic diversity. The results of Bayesian clustering and Nei's unbiased genetic distance indicated the existence of some genetic differentiation among the specimens and the five geographic populations were divided into two groups. Bottleneck tests suggested that all five geographic populations have undergone a demographic bottleneck event. The present genetic information should be taken into account in management plans for the conservation of goitered gazelle in Xinjiang.