phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at o:3274 DOI 10.1007/s10592-022-01483-1 The potential and shortcomings of mitochondrial DNA analysis for cheetah conservation management Abstract: There are only about 7,100 adolescent and adult cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) remaining in the wild. With the majority occurring outside protected areas, their numbers are rapidly declining. Evidence-based conservation measures are essential for the survival of this species. Genetic data is routinely used to inform conservation strategies, e.g., by establishing conservation units (CU). A commonly used marker in conservation genetics is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, we investigated the cheetah's phylogeography using a large-scale mtDNA data set to refine subspecies distributions and better assign individuals to CUs. Our dataset mostly consisted of historic samples to cover the cheetah's whole range as the species has been extinct in most of its former distribution. While our genetic data largely agree with geography-based subspecies assignments, several geographic regions show conflicting mtDNA signals. Our analyses support previous findings that evolutionary forces such as incomplete lineage sorting or mitochondrial capture likely confound the mitochondrial phylogeography of this species, especially in East and, to some extent, in Northeast Africa. We caution that subspecies assignments solely based on mtDNA should be treated carefully and argue for an additional standardized nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set for subspecies identification and monitoring. However, the detection of the A. j. soemmeringii specific haplogroup by a newly designed Amplification-Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) can already provide support for conservation measures. eng Acinonyx-Jubatus; Asiatic Cheetah; Avoidance; Habitats; Iran 2024-07-23T08:04:28.156Z LOMv1.0 Author BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Meißner;René; FN:René Meißner X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2829-1607 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Prost;Stefan; FN:Stefan Prost X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6229-3596 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Burger;Pamela A.; FN:Pamela A. Burger X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6941-0257 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Horin;Petr; FN:Petr Horin END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Khalatbari;Leili; FN:Leili Khalatbari X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2182-3084 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Abramov;Alexei V.; FN:Alexei V. Abramov END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Hunter;Luke T. B.; FN:Luke T. B. Hunter END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Vercammen;Paul; FN:Paul Vercammen END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Fernandes;Carlos Rodríguez; FN:Carlos Rodríguez Fernandes X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1386-8103 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Bottriell;Paul; FN:Paul Bottriell END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Bottriell;Lena Godsall; FN:Lena Godsall Bottriell END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Greve;Carola; FN:Carola Greve X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4993-1378 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Sliwa;Alexander; FN:Alexander Sliwa X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9111-3371 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Winter;Sven; FN:Sven Winter X-ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1890-0977 END:VCARD BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Westerhüs;Uta; FN:Uta Westerhüs END:VCARD https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/scheme https://w3id.org/kim/hcrt/text Textdokument Text LOMv1.0 yes https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 application/pdf 3004686 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:3274 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:3274/thumbnail LOMv1.0 discipline