Title
DNA analysis indicates that Asian elephants are native to Borneo and are therefore a high priority for conservation
Author(s)
Fernando P., Vidya T.N.C., Payne J., Stuewe M., Davison G., Alfred R.J., Andau P., Bosi E., Kilbourn A., Melnick D.J.
Published
2003
Publisher
PLoS Biology
Abstract
The origin of Borneo's elephants is controversial. Two competing hypotheses argue that they are either indigenous, tracing back to the Pleistocene, or were introduced, descending from elephants imported in the 16th-18th centuries. Taxonomically, they have either been classified as a unique subspecies or placed under the Indian or Sumatran subspecies. If shown to be a unique indigenous population, this would extend the natural species range of the Asian elephant by 1300 km, and therefore Borneo elephants would have much greater conservation importance than if they were a feral population. We compared DNA of Borneo elephants to that of elephants from across the range of the Asian elephant, using a fragment of mitochondrial DNA, including part of the hypervariable d-loop, and five autosomal microsatellite loci. We find that Borneo's elephants are genetically distinct, with molecular divergence indicative of a Pleistocene colonisation of Borneo and subsequent isolation. We reject the hypothesis that Borneo's elephants were introduced. The genetic divergence of Borneo elephants warrants their recognition as a separate evolutionary significant unit. Thus, interbreeding Borneo elephants with those from other populations would be contraindicated in ex situ conservation, and their genetic distinctiveness makes them one of the highest priority populations for Asian elephant conservation.
Keywords
DNA fragment; microsatellite DNA; mitochondrial DNA; DNA; article; Asian; Borneo; breeding; DNA determination; elephant; gene locus; genetic analysis; native species; nonhuman; nucleotide sequence; pleistocene; taxonomy; wildlife conservation; allele; animal; chemistry; DNA sequence; environmental protection; gene frequency; genetic variability; genotype; geography; haplotype; methodology; molecular evolution; molecular genetics; phylogeny; polymerase chain reaction; population genetics; species difference; statistical model; elephant; Elephantidae; Elephas maximus; Alleles; Animals; Borneo; Conservation of Natural Resources; DNA; DNA, Mitochondrial; Elephants; Evolution, Molecular; Gene Frequency; Genetics, Population; Genotype; Geography; Haplotypes; Microsatellite Repeats; Models, Statistical; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Variation (Genetics)
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the WCS Library to request.
![]()
Back
PUB11176