Molecular Characterization and Phylogeny of Panthera pardus (Common Leopard) in Pakistan
Molecular Characterization and Phylogeny of Panthera pardus (Common Leopard) in Pakistan
Usman Ijaz1, Muhammad Sajid Tahir2, Khalid Abdul Majeed3*, Shahid Iqbal4, Iffat Huma5, S. Firyal6, Ijaz Ahmed7, Shahid Chohan8 and Aamir Riaz Khan9
ABSTRACT
The present study was designed to investigate the evolutionary relationship of the Panthera pardus subspecies found in Pakistan by exploring the partial DNA sequences of mitochondrial Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Scat samples of 15 different known leopards were collected from Nathiagali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. After amplification with specific oligos, the amplicons of partial region of COI were subjected to sequencing, and then observed for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs were observed on three loci of the COI gene as compared to reference sequence of Panthera pardus pardus. The specimens found in Pakistan were found to be closely related to Panthera pardus orientalis (Amur Leopard in South eastern Russia) and Panthera pardus japonensis (North Chinese Leopard), with all of these three speculated to be evolved from Panthera pardus pardus in not-so-far past. Our findings are helpful in ascertaining the origin and closeness of leopard sub-species in Pakistan.
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