Background

The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), endemic to East Asia, is classified as six subspecies according to their geographical distribution including a population introduced to Europe. Studies on phylogenetic relationship or population genetics in both native and introduced areas have been carried out recently. Lately, opinions that Japanese raccoon dogs should be classified as a different species were asserted based on several studies using karyotypes, morphometric characters, mtDNA, and microsatellites analysis. However, no data pertaining to the nuclear DNA (nDNA) or Y chromosome are available.

Objective

To estimate the relationship among the species using different genes is necessary in understanding of the history of this species.

Method

Therefore, we investigated nDNA and Y chromosomes in our study to define relationships: (1) between continental raccoon dog populations, (2) between original and introduced groups, and (3) between continental and Japanese groups.

Results

The analysis of four nuclear (CHRNA1, VTN, TRSP, WT1) and ZFY genes indicated that there had been no genetic differentiation among the continental populations. However, significant differences were observed between continental and Japanese raccoon dogs in VTN and ZFY genes implying genetic differentiation has been going between them.

Conclusion

To better understand the phylogenetic relationship among raccoon dog populations, further study will be necessary.

中文翻译：

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基于四个核基因和Y基因的不同浣熊犬（Nyctereutes procyonoides）种群之间的亲缘关系。

背景

Asia狗（Nyctereutes procyonoides）是东亚特有的，根据其地理分布（包括传入欧洲的种群）被分为六个亚种。最近已经对原生和引进地区的系统发育关系或种群遗传学进行了研究。近来，基于使用核型，形态特征，mtDNA和微卫星分析的多项研究，主张将日本co狗归为不同物种。但是，没有有关核DNA（nDNA）或Y染色体的数据。

目的

为了了解该物种的历史，有必要使用不同的基因来估计物种之间的关系。

方法

因此，我们在研究中调查了nDNA和Y染色体，以定义以下关系：（1）大陆狗种群之间；（2）原始群和引进群之间；（3）大陆和日本群之间。

结果

对四个核基因（CHRNA1，VTN，TRSP，WT1）和ZFY基因的分析表明，大陆人群之间没有遗传分化。但是，在大陆和日本狗的VTN和ZFY基因之间观察到显着差异，这表明它们之间正在进行遗传分化。

结论

为了更好地了解狗种群之间的系统发育关系，将需要进一步的研究。