Supplementing the studbook. Using genetic analysis to complement a captive breeding programme of an endangered primate, Hylobates moloch.

Genetic analysis of animals involved in captive breeding and reintroduction programmes can provide valuable information to aid in maintaining wild type genotypes and genetic variability. Hylobates moloch, also referred to as the silvery gibbon, is an Endangered primate species endemic to the Indonesian island of Java. As part of an overall conservation programme, a captive breeding and reintroduction programme is being organised. In order to aid both the management decisions within the breeding programme and success rates of re-introductions analyses at three genetic regions were carried out, with DNA extracted from non-invasively collated faecal samples. In order to assay if captively bred individuals were representative of their wild conspecifics, the population was split into two groups representative of wild born and captive born individuals. Genetic analyses at mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region-I (mtDNA HV-I), 15 microsatellite loci and the second exon of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) DRB region, were carried out to ascertain genetic variability levels, levels of inbreeding, signs of selection and confirm the pedigree. Captive born individuals had markedly lower levels of variability at mtDNA HV-I, which was significant versus the wild group. The second neutral marker of microsatellites revealed no differentiation between wild and captive-born; moreover measures of standardised heterozygosity demonstrateda fairly high level of genomic variability overall. Pedigree analysis using the microsatellites produced information that differed from studbook entries. This was further supported by haplotypic data compiled from the MHC DRB exon 2 analysis. The MHC study revealed a total of 14 DRB alleles, 10 of which are from unknown lineages when compared to human and chimpanzees. As with microsatellites, no group differentiation between wild and captive has occurred but there are more rare alleles present within wild individuals. In conclusion, whilst genetic variation is both high and shows no deviation from wild-born to captive-born at neutral microsatellite loci, care should be taken to maintain rare mtDNA haplotypes and MHC DRB alleles in future generations.