Genetic diversity and relatedness among African Painted dogs in North America

African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus, APD) are highly endangered, with
fewer than 7,000 remaining in nature. Captive breeding programs can
preserve a genetically diverse population and provide a source of
individuals for re-introductions. However, most programs are initiated
from few founders and suffer from low genetic diversity and inbreeding.
The aims of this study were to use molecular markers to assess genetic
variation, inbreeding, and relatedness among APDs in the North American
captive population, to use these data to realign studbook records, and to
compare these data to wild populations and to the European captive
population to facilitate development of a global management plan. We
sequenced mitochondrial and major histocompatibility (MHC) class II loci,
and genotyped 14 microsatellite loci from 109 APDs from 34 institutions in
North America. We identified three likely studbook errors and resolved ten
cases of uncertain paternity. Overall, microsatellite heterozygosity was
higher than reported in Europe, but effective population size estimates
were lower. Mitochondrial sequence variation was extremely limited, and
there were fewer MHC haplotypes than in Europe or the wild. Although the
population did not show evidence of significant inbreeding overall,
several individuals shared high relatedness values, which should be
incorporated into future breeding programs.