Genetic study of Gazella gazella: chromosomal and allozymic data.

Some subspecies of Gazella gazella are studied by means of protein electrophoresis (gazella, cora, and erlangeri) and cytogenetics (gazella, cora, erlangeri and farasani), and are compared to G. subgutturosa. Variability parameters and genetic distances are computed from allozyme data at 24 loci. Percentages of polymorphic loci range between 0 and 20.8%, mean numbers of alleles per locus between 1 and 1.25 and mean heterozygosities between 0 and 0.088. Inside G. gazella genetic distances range between 0.011 and 0.074 (Rogers' distance) and between 0.017 and 0.075 (Nei's distance). Genetic distances between subspecies of G. gazella and G. subgutturosa are around 0.16. C, GTG, and RBG banded karyotypes are given. The results are congruent with the subspecific status of G. g. gazella, G. g. cora, G. g. erlangeri and G. g. farasani, showing no karyological and only slight allozymic differences between them. These results may be important from a conservation point of view, for these populations whose ranges have been significantly declining over the last decades.