Florida Panther Research Paper

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November 29, 2010 Warren E. Johnson, David P. Onorato, Melody E. Roelke, Darrell E. Land, Mark Cunningham, Robert C. Belden, Roy McBride, Deborah Jansen, Mark Lotz, David Shindle, JoGayle Howard, David E. Wildt, Linda M. Penfold, Jeffery A. Hostetler, Madan K. Oli, and Stephan J. O’Brien. 2010 Genetic Restoration of the Florida Panther, Science 329. 1641-1645 The goal of the Genetic Restoration of the Florida Panther (Puma concolor coryi) program was to allow gene exchange to occur between subspecies by introducing eight female Texas pumas into the Florida panther population. The methods used to improve the depleted genetic diversity of the Florida panther involved a proposed plan to increase the population size, to increase in the…show more content…
Inbreeding occurs between two closely related animals with similar genetic constitutions and can result in a very negative effect on the offspring. What is most dangerous for the offspring of two closely related parents is whether or not the offspring will receive a gene from one parent that is direct copy of a single shared gene from an ancestor. Mutated genes seen in the Florida panthers have originated from nucleic acid mutations found in the DNA code that has not been repaired. If an animal receives a gene from a parent that has been mutated, the allele from the other parent will mask the mutated allele as long as the offspring’s parents are not related. If the animal’s parents are closely related, however, the likelihood that the same mutated gene will be passed to the offspring is more likely to occur because there is not a normal gene to mask it (4). This incidence can be illustrated in the Florida panther population. The lack of genetic diversity in the earlier Florida population showed a high likelihood of inbreeding, thus more genetic defects. The genes given from the Texas panther population are aiding in replacing the negative recessive genes, which can be seen through the marked decrease in detrimental traits. Proper nucleic acid enzyme repair is vital for nucleic acid mutations seen in Florida panthers and is a very important concept in the study of

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