Genetic variation in muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)

Abstract

Populations of Alaskan muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are derived from 34 animals transplanted from East Greenland in the 1930s. The possibility of a founder effect following this transplant was investigated. Muscle, liver and plasma samples from 87 Alaskan animals and 39 Greenlandic animals were analyzed using polyacrylamide and starch gel electrophoresis. A total of 38 enzyme and non-enzymatic protein systems, coded by 58 presumptive loci, was tested for activity; 28 loci were considered usable. One locus (Esterase-2) was polymorphic; the proportion of polymorphic loci was 0.036 (95% criterion). The mean heterozygosity per individual was 0.006 in the Greenlandic population and 0.011 in the Alaskan population. The allele frequencies at the Est-2 locus were similar in both populations. No heterozygote deficiency and no evidence of a founder effect were seen in the Alaskan population. This may be a consequence of the low level of allozymic variation seen in muskoxen in general.