Genetic variability of Herpailurus yagouaroundi, Puma concolor and Panthera onca (Mammalia, Felidae) studied using Felis catus microsatellites. Genetics and Molecular Biology 29

We used four microsatellite loci (Fca08, Fca45, Fca77 and Fca96) from the domestic cat, Felis catus, to investigate genetic variability in specimens of Herpailurus yagouaroundi (jaguarundi, otter cat, eyra), Puma concolor (cougar, mountain lion, puma) and Panthera onca (jaguar) held in various Brazilian zoos. Samples of DNA from the cats were PCR amplified and then sequenced before being analyzed using the CERVUS program. Our results show a mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.83 for H. yagouaroundi, 0.66 for P. concolor and 0.69 for P. onca and a mean of 10.3 alleles for the Fca08 locus, 5.3 for Fca 45, 9 for Fca 77 and 14 for Fca 96. These results indicate a rela-tively high level of genetic diversity for the specimens studied. Key words: genetic variability, mammals, felines, microsatellites. Received: October 19, 2004; Accepted: September 21, 2005. Brazil has the highest number of aquatic and terres-trial species and is the leading country in respect to biologi-cal diversity. Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico are the three countries with the richest mammalian fauna, Brazil cur-rently having 460 species of mammals and this number is expected to increase as new species are described (Mitter-meier, 1994). Felines are an important component of the worldwide fauna, the family Felidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) compris-ing 37 species which occur naturally in almost every area of the world except for some insular regions such as Australia