SNP discovery and characterisation in White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum) with application to parentage assignment

DataSet Animal(s) : White Rhino
DataSet Category : Mammals
DataSet Country : Global
DataSet Region : Across the World
DataSet Type : DataSet
DataSet Access : Public
DataSet URL : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409770/

DataSet Date : February 6, 2017

The white rhino is one of the great success stories of modern wildlife conservation, growing from as few as 50-100 animals in the 1880s, to approximately 20,000 white rhinoceros remaining today. However, illegal trade in conversational rhinoceros horns is adding constant pressure on remaining populations. Captive management of ex situ populations of endangered species using molecular methods can contribute to improving the management of the species. Here we compare for the first time the utility of 33 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and nine micro satellites (MS) in isolation and in combination for assigning parentage in captive White Rhinoceros. We found that a combined data set of SNPs and micro satellites was most informative with the highest confidence level. This study thus provided us with a useful set of SNP and MS markers for parentage and relatedness testing. Further assessment of the utility of these markers over multiple (> three) generations and the incorporation of a larger variety of relationships among individuals (e.g. half-siblings or cousins) is strongly suggested.

DataSet Agency : Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa

DataSet Researcher : Christiaan Labuschagne