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Vol. 49 No. 6, 2010
High Genetic Variability of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus L.) Population from Croatia as Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Control Region Sequences
Tomislav Gomerčić1,*, Magda Sindičić1, Ana Galov2, Haidi Arbanasić2, Josip Kusak1, Ivna Kocijan2, Martina Đuras Gomerčić1, and Đuro Huber2
1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Gomerčić, Magda Sindičić, Ana Galov, Haidi Arbanasić, Josip Kusak, Ivna Kocijan, Martina
Đuras Gomerčić, and Đuro Huber (2010) Declines of grey wolf (Canis lupus
L.) populations in Europe began some 250 yr ago, eventually leading to
the almost-complete eradication of wolves from Western Europe. As
a consequence, the majority of the remaining populations today exhibit
unique haplotypes. A population in the Dinaric Mountains survived
the eradication, and represents the closest stable wolf gene pool to
the Western Europe. The grey wolf in Croatia reached the edge of
extinction in the beginning of the 1990s, while during the last 10 yr,
an increase in the population size was observed, and in 2008, it was
estimated at around 200 individuals. We analyzed a 281 bp portion
of the mitochondrial DNA control region of 91 grey wolf samples from
Croatia. Totally, 4 haplotypes with 11 polymorphic sites were
identified, with a haplotype diversity of 0.711 ± 0.018. One
haplotype is new and has heretofore not been registered in any grey
wolf population worldwide. The Croatian wolf population has one
of the highest levels of mtDNA variability recorded to date, and
probably retains a significant proportion of the genetic diversity of
the formerly widespread and continuous European wolf population.
Therefore, the Croatian wolf population is a valuable source of genetic
diversity, which through immigration could help restore populations
with reduced variability.
Key words: Grey wolf, Canis lupus, Control region mtDNA, D-loop, Croatia.
*Correspondence: Tel: 385-1-2390158. Fax: 385-1-2390158. E-mail:tomislav.gomercic@vef.hr
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