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Science 29 July 1983:
Vol. 221. no. 4609, pp. 459 - 462
DOI: 10.1126/science.221.4609.459
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Articles

The Cheetah Is Depauperate in Genetic Variation

STEPHEN J. O'BRIEN 1, DAVID E. WILDT 1, DAVID GOLDMAN 2, CARL R. MERRIL 3, and MITCHELL BUSH 4

1 Laboratory of Viral Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21701
2 Laboratory of Clinical Science, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20205
3 Laboratory of General and Comparative Biochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health
4 National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20008

A sample of 55 South African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) from two geographically isolated populations in South Africa were found to be genetically monomorphic at each of 47 allozyme (allelic isozyme) loci. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of 155 abundant soluble proteins from cheetah fibroblasts also revealed a low frequency of polymorphism (average heterozygosity, 0.013). Both estimates are dramatically lower than levels of variation reported in other cats and mammals in general. The extreme monomorphism may be a consequence of a demographic contraction of the cheetah (a population bottleneck) in association with a reduced rate of increase in the recent natural history of this endangered species.

Submitted on October 4, 1982
Revised on January 24, 1983


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