Transferrin variation in caribou ( Rangifer tarandus L.) on the Canadian Arctic islands

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyse transferrin variation in caribou from the Canadian Arctic islands. Sixteen alleles were detected in Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi). The most common allele was Tf G2 , which increased in frequency from 0.167 at the Boothia Peninsula to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Zoology
Main Authors: Røed, K. H., Staaland, H., Broughton, E., Thomas, D. C.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1986
Subjects:
Animal Science and Zoology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Arctic
Svalbard
Peary
Parry
Boothia Peninsula
Arctic Population
caribou
Rangifer tarandus
svalbard reindeer
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z86-015
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z86-015
Description
Summary:Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to analyse transferrin variation in caribou from the Canadian Arctic islands. Sixteen alleles were detected in Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi). The most common allele was Tf G2 , which increased in frequency from 0.167 at the Boothia Peninsula to 0.236 in the Peel population and 0.340 in the Parry population. The presence of this allele, which is the most common allele in Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus) and not detected in Norwegian reindeer (R. t. tarandus), suggests a common origin for the Peary caribou and the Svalbard reindeer. The large genetic distance in the transferrin locus between continental and island populations suggests the isolation of a High Arctic population in a northern refugium during the Wisconsin glaciation.

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