Genetic diversity of endangered brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa

• Published in: Diversity and Distributions
• Main Authors: Calvignac, Sébastien, Hughes, Sandrine, Hänni, Catherine
• Other Authors: Hydrobiologie et Ecologie Souterraines, Laboratoire d'Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Fluviaux (EHF), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL), École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: brown bear; genetic diversity; Middle East; mtDNA; Ancient DNA; Ursus arctos syriacus; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Ursus arctos
• Online Access: https://hal.science/halsde-00537412; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2009.00586.x

International audience Aim Middle East brown bears (Ursus arctos syriacus Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1828) are presently on the edge of extinction. However, little is known of their genetic diversity. This study investigates that question as well as that of Middle East brown bear relationships to surrounding populations of the species. Location Middle East region of south-western Asia. Methods We performed DNA analyses on 27 brown bear individuals. Twenty ancient bone samples (Late Pleistocene to 20th century) from natural populations and seven present-day samples obtained from captive individuals were analysed. Results Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial sequences obtained from seven ancient specimens identify three distinct maternal clades, all unrelated to one recently described from North Africa. Brown bears from Iran exhibit striking diversity (three individuals, three haplotypes) and form a unique clade that cannot be linked to any extant one. Individuals from Syria belong to the Holarctic clade now observed in Eastern Europe, Turkey, Japan and North America. Specimens from Lebanon surprisingly appear as tightly linked to the clade of brown bears now in Western Europe. Moreover, we show that U. a. syriacus in captivity still harbour haplotypes closely linked to those found in ancient individuals. Main conclusion This study brings important new information on the genetic diversity of brown bear populations at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. It reveals a high level of diversity in Middle East brown bears and extends the historical distribution of the Western European clade to the East. Our analyses also suggest the value of a specific breeding programme for captive populations.