Genetic variation in muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017 Populations of Alaskan muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are derived from 34 animals transplanted from East Greenland in the 1930s. The possibility of a founder effect following this transplant was investigated. Muscle, liver and plasma samples from 87 Al...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fleischman, Claire L.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 1986
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11122/7996
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Summary:Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017 Populations of Alaskan muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are derived from 34 animals transplanted from East Greenland in the 1930s. The possibility of a founder effect following this transplant was investigated. Muscle, liver and plasma samples from 87 Alaskan animals and 39 Greenlandic animals were analyzed using polyacrylamide and starch gel electrophoresis. A total of 38 enzyme and non-enzymatic protein systems, coded by 58 presumptive loci, was tested for activity; 28 loci were considered usable. One locus (Esterase-2) was polymorphic; the proportion of polymorphic loci was 0.036 (95% criterion). The mean heterozygosity per individual was 0.006 in the Greenlandic population and 0.011 in the Alaskan population. The allele frequencies at the Est-2 locus were similar in both populations. No heterozygote deficiency and no evidence of a founder effect were seen in the Alaskan population. This may be a consequence of the low level of allozymic variation seen in muskoxen in general.