High genetic diversity and demographic history of captive Siamese and Saltwater crocodiles suggest the first step toward the establishment of a breeding and reintroduction program in Thailand

PLoS One. 2017 Sep 27;12(9):e0184526. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184526. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) and Saltwater crocodile (C. porosus) are two of the most endangered animals in Thailand. Their numbers have been reduced severely by hunting and habitat fragmentation. A reintroduction plan involving captive-bred populations that are used commercially is important and necessary as a conservation strategy to aid in the recovery of wild populations. Here, the genetic diversity and population structure of 69 individual crocodiles, mostly members of captive populations, were analyzed using both mitochondrial D-loop DNA and microsatellite markers. The overall haplotype diversity was 0.924-0.971 and the mean expected heterozygosity across 22 microsatellite loci was 0.578-0.701 for the two species. This agreed with the star-like shaped topology of the haplotype network, which suggests a high level of genetic diversity. The mean ratio of the number of alleles to the allelic range (M ratio) for the populations of both species was considerably lower than the threshold of 0.68, which was interpreted as indicative of a historical genetic bottleneck. Microsatellite markers provided evidence of introgression for three individual crocodiles, which suggest that hybridization might have occurred between C. siamensis and C. porosus. D-loop sequence analysis detected bi-directional hybridization between male and female individuals of the parent species. Therefore, identification of genetically non-hybrid and hybrid individuals is important for long-term conservation management. Relatedness values were low within the captive populations, which supported their genetic integrity and the viability of a breeding and reintroduction management plan. This work constitutes the first step in establishing an appropriate source population from a scientifically managed perspective for an in situ/ex situ conservation program and reintroduction of crocodile individuals to the wild in Thailand.

MeSH terms

  • Alligators and Crocodiles / classification
  • Alligators and Crocodiles / genetics*
  • Alligators and Crocodiles / physiology
  • Animals
  • Breeding*
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Haplotypes
  • Microsatellite Repeats / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Thailand

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by grants from Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute (KURDI; grant no. 80.60), Kasetsart University 72 year anniversary graduate scholarship (no. 10/2557) from the Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Professor Motivation (PM; no. PM4/2558), Special Track Staff (STS; no. STS1/2558), and the Science Research Fund (ScRF; no. ScRF-S19-2558) from the Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, the Center for Advanced Studies in Tropical Natural Resources, National Research University-Kasetsart University (CASTNAR, NRU-KU, Thailand; no. 10/2559), the graduate scholarship provided by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) as of fiscal year 2017, the Graduate School, Kasetsart University, and the Science Achievement Scholarship of Thailand (SAST; no. 5717400381) from the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand. This research is also partially supported by the Center of Excellence on Agricultural Biotechnology, Science and Technology Postgraduate Education and Research Development Office, Office of Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education (AG-BIO/PERDO-CHE). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Yosapong Temsiripong is employed by Sriracha Moda Co., Ltd. Sriracha Moda Co., Ltd provided support in the form of salary for author YT, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of this author is articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.