Table 1.

Percent Polymorphic Loci and Percent Average Heterozygosity for Different Nuclear Gene Families in Free-Living Populations of Cheetahs, Lions, and Pumas

Cheetahs[ii] Lions Pumas Dom. Cat
Ajr Ajj GIR[ii] NGC SER BCS[ii] IDO DOM
% PolymorphismAllozyme[iii] 4.12.00.04.011.04.94.9–10.021.3
MHC-RFLP[iv] 5.54.20.05.817.024.9
Microsatellite[v] 84.180.519.383.084.142.975.098.9
% HeterozygosityAllozyme[iii] 1.40.00.01.53.81.82.0–4.0 8.2
MHC-RFLP[iv] 6.75.10.08.021.828.9
Minisatellite[vi] 43.343.62.943.548.110.346.944.9
Microsatellite[v] 46.747.57.940.447.414.734.868.1

[i] Abbreviations: GIR, Gir Forest lions; NGC, Ngorongoro Crater lions; SER, Serengeti Park lions; ETO, Etosha Park lions; KAL, Kalahari-Gemsbok Park lions; KRU, Kruger Park lions; BCS, Big Cypress Swamp pumas; IDO, Idaho pumas; SA, South American pumas; EA, East African cheetahs; CNM, captive Namibian cheetahs; WNM, wild Namibian cheetahs; Ajr, Acinonyx jubatus raineyi; Ajj, A. j. jubutus; DOM, domestic cats.

[ii] All cheetahs, Gir forest lions (GIR), and Florida panthers (Big Cypress Swamp BCS) have shown reduced molecular genetic diversity as a consequence of historic demographic reduction and inbreeding (O'Brien 1994).

[v] This study.