Dataset Information

Reviving the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster in North and West Africa: a mitochondrial lineage ranging more than 6,000 km wide.

ABSTRACT: The recent discovery of a lineage of gray wolf in North-East Africa suggests the presence of a cryptic canid on the continent, the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster. We analyzed the mtDNA diversity (cytochrome b and control region) of a series of African Canis including wolf-like animals from North and West Africa. Our objectives were to assess the actual range of C. l. lupaster, to further estimate the genetic characteristics and demographic history of its lineage, and to question its taxonomic delineation from the golden jackal C. aureus, with which it has been considered synonymous. We confirmed the existence of four distinct lineages within the gray wolf, including C. lupus/familiaris (Holarctic wolves and dogs), C. l. pallipes, C. l. chanco and C. l. lupaster. Taxonomic assignment procedures identified wolf-like individuals from Algeria, Mali and Senegal, as belonging to C. l. lupaster, expanding its known distribution c. 6,000 km to the west. We estimated that the African wolf lineage (i) had the highest level of genetic diversity within C. lupus, (ii) coalesced during the Late Pleistocene, contemporaneously with Holarctic wolves and dogs, and (iii) had an effective population size of c. 80,000 females. Our results suggest that the African wolf is a relatively ancient gray wolf lineage with a fairly large, past effective population size, as also suggested by the Pleistocene fossil record. Unique field observations in Senegal allowed us to provide a morphological and behavioral diagnosis of the African wolf that clearly distinguished it from the sympatric golden jackal. However, the detection of C. l. lupaster mtDNA haplotypes in C. aureus from Senegal brings the delineation between the African wolf and the golden jackal into question. In terms of conservation, it appears urgent to further characterize the status of the African wolf with regard to the African golden jackal.

SUBMITTER: Gaubert P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3416759 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reviving the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster in North and West Africa: a mitochondrial lineage ranging more than 6,000 km wide.

Gaubert Philippe P Bloch Cécile C Benyacoub Slim S Abdelhamid Adnan A Pagani Paolo P Djagoun Chabi Adéyèmi Marc Sylvestre CA Couloux Arnaud A Dufour Sylvain S

PloS one 20120810 8

The recent discovery of a lineage of gray wolf in North-East Africa suggests the presence of a cryptic canid on the continent, the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster. We analyzed the mtDNA diversity (cytochrome b and control region) of a series of African Canis including wolf-like animals from North and West Africa. Our objectives were to assess the actual range of C. l. lupaster, to further estimate the genetic characteristics and demographic history of its lineage, and to question its taxonomic ...[more]

PMID: 22900047

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Project description:BackgroundBabesia spp. and Theileria spp. are important emerging causes of disease in dogs. Alongside these domesticated hosts, there is increasing recognition that these piroplasms can also be found in a range of wild animals with isolated reports describing the presence of these pathogen in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and captive grey wolves (Canis lupus). The prevalence and impact of these infections in free-ranging populations of canids are unknown. To gain a better insight into the epidemiology and pathogenesis of piroplasm infections in free-ranging grey wolves, pathological and molecular investigations into captive and free-ranging grey wolves in Croatia were performed.ResultsThe carcasses of 107 free-ranging wolves and one captive wolf were the subjects of post-mortem investigations and sampling for molecular studies. A blood sample from one live captured wolf for telemetric tracking was also used for molecular analysis. PCR amplification targeting the 18S RNA gene revealed that 21 of 108 free-ranging wolves and one captive animal were positive for Theileria/Babesia DNA. Subsequent sequencing of a fragment of the 18S RNA gene revealed that 7/22 animals were positive for Babesia canis while the other amplified sequence were found to be identical with corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of Theileria capreoli isolated from wild deer (15/22). Haematological and cytological analysis revealed the presence of signet-ring shaped or pear-shaped piroplasms in several animals with the overall parasite burden in all positive animals assessed to be very low. Pathological investigation of the captive animal revealed fatal septicemia as a likely outcome of hemolytic anaemia. There was little or no evidence of hemolytic disease consistent with babesiosis in other animals.ConclusionImportantly, the presence of B. canis in free-ranging grey wolves has not been described before but has been reported in a single fox and domestic dogs only. That B. canis infections cause disease in dogs but have little impact on wolf health possibly suggests that the wolf is the natural and the domestic dog is a secondary host. Surprisingly, the frequent finding of Theileria capreoli in wolves suggests that this Theileria species is not restricted to ungulates (cervids) but commonly infects also this carnivore species. Nevertheless, the potential role that these asymptomatically infected animals may play in the dispersal of these pathogens to susceptible sympatric species such as domesticated dogs requires further investigation.

Project description:Of the sub-species of Holarctic wolf, the Woolly wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is uniquely adapted to atmospheric hypoxia and widely distributed across the Himalaya, Qinghai Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and Mongolia. Taxonomic ambiguity still exists for this sub-species because of complex evolutionary history anduse of limited wild samples across its range in Himalaya. We document for the first time population genetic structure and taxonomic affinity of the wolves across western and eastern Himalayan regions from samples collected from the wild (n = 19) using mitochondrial control region (225bp). We found two haplotypes in our data, one widely distributed in the Himalaya that was shared with QTP and the other confined to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the western Himalaya, India. After combining our data withpublished sequences (n = 83), we observed 15 haplotypes. Some of these were shared among different locations from India to QTP and a few were private to geographic locations. A phylogenetic tree indicated that Woolly wolves from India, Nepal, QTP and Mongolia are basal to other wolves with shallow divergence (K2P; 0.000-0.044) and high bootstrap values. Demographic analyses based on mismatch distribution and Bayesian skyline plots (BSP) suggested a stable population over a long time (~million years) with signs of recent declines. Regional dominance of private haplotypes across its distribution range may indicate allopatric divergence. This may be due to differences in habitat characteristics, availability of different wild prey species and differential deglaciation within the range of the Woolly wolf during historic time. Presence of basal and shallow divergence within-clade along with unique ecological requirements and adaptation to hypoxia, the Woolly wolf of Himalaya, QTP, and Mongolian regions may be considered as a distinct an Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU). Identifying management units (MUs) is needed within its distribution range using harmonized multiple genetic data for effective conservation planning.

Dataset Information

Reviving the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster in North and West Africa: a mitochondrial lineage ranging more than 6,000 km wide.

Publications

Reviving the African wolf Canis lupus lupaster in North and West Africa: a mitochondrial lineage ranging more than 6,000 km wide.

Similar Datasets

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