Molecular analysis for genetic diversity and distance of introduced Grus antigone sharpii L. to Thailand

The genetic relationship was examined in a population of Grus antigone sharpii L. using DNA markers from the ISSR technique for applying towards breeding purposes for conservation of species. Since their extinction from Thailand, sixteen eastern sarus cranes: Grus antigone sharpii L. provided from Cambodia were fed and bred to sixty individuals at Nakhonratchasima Zoo, Northeastern Thailand to re-exist in Thai natural sites. Their genetic diversity and distance were examined to test their possibility to adapt to environmental variation. Blood samples from 27 individuals of Grus antigone sharpii L. were collected and DNA was extracted. These DNA samples were amplified using the successful fifteen from twenty four primers inter simple sequences repeat markers. A dendrogram was constructed and shows distance values of the species between 12.1 and 53.5. The samples produced 63.96% polymorphic banding profiles. The genetic diversity (H') in this population was estimated using Shannon's index. The high H' value of 0.501 reflected the somewhat wide range of distribution sites, which would adapt to environmental variations. Genetic evenness is 0.152. This value supports that all the studied samples have a small equal genetic abundance.