Small Cats in Asia

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

I am forwarding this on behalf of Shujin Luo, who is doing work in

conservation genetics of several Asian species. In layman's terms, Shujin's

work is part of a larger effort to create a " natural history museum " of

Asian cat species through genetic analysis, rather than stuffed animals. No

animal testing involved.

 

If you can assist, please contact Shujin directly: luos

 

Thank you,

 

Kirsten Conrad

Singapore

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We are writing to you from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the

National Cancer Institute, USA to enlist your support for two studies.

 

The first is the first ever worldwide study of the pangolin, a close

relative of the carnivores. The second is an ongoing study of the leopard

cat and other coexisting small wild cats in South-East Asia. The goals of

these studies are to develop the tools and information needed to help

understand the evolutionary history of these species and to develop

effective conservation strategies. These are large, international projects

that will be conducted in collaboration with numerous individuals and

institutions, such as the South East Asian Zoo Association and the Museum of

Natural History of France and which have thus far have received funding from

the National Institute of Health in the U.S., the Portuguese Foundation for

Science and Technology, and the National Geographic Society.

 

Our lab has been successfully utilizing molecular genetic tools in similar

international studies of wildlife for many years, including Asian species

such as the giant panda, orangutan, leopard and tiger.

 

We are currently trying to identify people that might be able to assist or

participate in these projects by either providing information and/or by

providing assistance or access to animals from which we could obtain samples

for genetic analyses, such as blood, tissue, or hides. These samples may be

from animals held in captive collections, animals from the wild, or from

animals found along roads, in local markets, etc. Our budget allows for

covering reasonable costs associated with collecting samples and we also

will be planning trips to several countries to assist with collection of

samples.

 

We greatly appreciate any information you might have that would be of

assistance to us with these projects and any insights you might have on the

source of potential samples for collection. We look forward to hearing from

you and discussing the project with you in further detail.

 

Sincerely,

Shujin Luo, Ph.D. Candidate

Agostinho Antunes, Ph.D, Postdoctoral Fellow

 

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Selected publications:

Johnson WE, O'Brien SJ (1997) Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Felidae

using 16S rRNA and NADH-5 mitochondrial genes. Journal of Molecular

Evolution 44, S98-S116.

Lu Z, Johnson WE, Menotti-Raymond M, et al. (2001) Patterns of genetic

diversity in remaining giant panda populations. Conservation Biology 15,

1596-1607.

Lu Z, Karesh W, B., Janczewski D, N., et al. (1996) Genomic

differentiation among natural populations of orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus).

Current Biology 6, 1326-1336.

Luo S, Kim J-H, Johnson WE, et al. (in prep) Phylogeography and genetic

ancestry of Tigers (Panthera tigris).

Uphyrkina O, Johnson WE, Quigley H, et al. (2001) Phylogenetics, genome

diversity and origin of modern leopard, Panthera pardus. Molecular Ecology

10, 2617-2633.