Genetic Characterization of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) at the Centro de Vida Silvestre San Bartolome Yucatan, Mexico

Aims: Estimate the inbreeding rate, evaluate nucleotide divergences between deer in a captive population, and design a crossbreeding scheme to maintain genetic diversity.

Study design: A descriptive study was carried out to characterize the genetic divergence status of a captive population of deer, under uncontrolled mating conditions, without genealogical data.

Place and duration of Study: The deer under study were confined to the Centro de Vida Silvestre San Bartolomé in the locality of Tekax, Yucatan Mexico. The study was carried out from May 2006 to April 2007.

Methodology: Quantitative genetic models were applied to characterize the population of 39 adult deer (Odocoileus virginianus) confined in a 3 Ha pen. Blood samples were collected to apply the random amplification technique of polymorphic DNA fragments (RAPD). Two DNA primers were used in the RAPD to generate the DNA polymorphic band patterns. From the band pattern of each specimen, molecular analysis software was applied to estimate the nucleotide divergences between the analyzed units and, finally, dendrograms were generated using the UPGMA technique to group the animals according to their nucleotide divergences in the amount of nucleotides substituted per 100 bases. Groups of breeding animals were designed based on their divergences in the dendrograms.

Results: The effective population number was 19 and the expected inbreeding rate per generation was 0.0263 (2.63%). Eighteen specimens did not share DNA bands. The dendrograms of genetic divergences of each primer showed 11 specimens that appear in both dendrograms. The genetic divergences between the specimens were distributed from 0.086 to 2.62 substituted nucleotides in relation to 100 bases in both dendrograms. Breeding groups were designed for three generations with animals that have the greatest genetic divergence among them.

Conclusion: The RAPD used allowed the identification of deer that did not share bands within the analyzed population, while the other members presented different values of nucleotide divergences. From the highest values ​​of nucleotide divergences, groups of reproducers were restructured to stop the increase in inbreeding, even when there are no genealogical data.