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Phylogenetic study of extirpated Korean leopard using mitochondrial DNA from an old skin specimen in South Korea

Authors :
Jee Yun Hyun
Jang Hyuk Cho
Puneet Pandey
Mi-Sook Min
Kyung Seok Kim
Hang Lee
Source :
PeerJ, Vol 8, p e8900 (2020)
Publication Year :
2020
Publisher :
PeerJ Inc., 2020.

Abstract

The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a threatened species in its range throughout the world. Although, historically, the Korean Peninsula had a high population density of leopards, they were extirpated from South Korea by 1970, leaving almost no genetic specimens. Traditionally, Korean leopards are classified as Panthera pardus orientalis; however, their classification is based only on locality and morphology. Therefore, there is a need for genetic studies to identify the phylogenetic status of Korean leopards at the subspecies level. Presently, no extant wild specimen is available from South Korea; therefore, we extracted genetic material from the old skin of a leopard captured in Jirisan, South Korea in the 1930s and conducted the first phylogenetic study of the South Korean leopard. A total of 726 bp of mitochondrial DNA, including segments of the NADH5 and control region, were amplified by PCR. A phylogenetic analysis of the fragment, along with sequences of nine leopard subspecies from GenBank revealed that the extinct South Korean leopard belonged to the Asian leopard group and in the same clade as the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). Thus, the leopard that inhabited South Korea in the past was of the same subspecies as the Amur leopard population currently inhabiting the transboundary region of Russia, China, and North Korea. These results emphasize the importance of conserving the endangered wild Amur leopard population (estimated to be about 60–80 individuals) in Russia and China, for future restoration of leopards in the Korean Peninsula.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
21678359
Volume :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
PeerJ
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.be56fb58458c4b9e8fd72c9242fb04a5
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8900