The Genetic relationship or Vietnamese wild boars in central highlands assessed by cytochrome B

Abstract

Vietnam belongs to South-east Asia (SEA), which has the higher variation of wild boars than any other comparable area in the world. However, the genetic research on these animals in Vietnam has not been concerned yet. In this study, to examine the genetic relationship and the distribution of Vietnamese wild boars in Central Highlands we collected 20 wild boar samples from different regions in Central Highlands, sequenced the cytochrome b region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from each sample, and compared these sequences with previously determined sequences from Asian and European wild boars. The phylogenetic results showed that the examined Vietnamese wild boars can be divided into two distinguished populations denoting as group I and II. The Vietnamese wild boars of group I were found to be distinct from determined Asian and European wild boars whereas the Vietnamese wild boars of group II were genetically close to these Asian wild boars. In addition, the Vietnamese wild boars of group I were estimated to have early diverged from known Asian wild boars at 455,000 YBP (years before present), indicating that Vietnamese wild boars of group I could be a new found species isolated from other Asian wild boars. The single nucleotide polymorphism analysis showed that three Asian haplotypes were contributed in Vietnamese wild boars including A3 (TATG) haplotype in Vietnamese wild boar of group I and A1 (CATA) haplotype and A2 (CATG) haplotype in Vietnamese wild boars of group II. The study is an important implication for the further research on genetic diversity as well as maintenance and utilization of these species in Vietnam. Keywords: Cytochrome b Genetic relationship Haplotype Vietnam Central Highland Wild boar