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Alistair Naidoo, second-year master’s student in Conservation Genetics and full-time technician in the Department of Genetics; Prof Paul Grobler, Head of the Department of Genetics; Prof Gordon Luikart; and Hannah Janse van Vuuren, third-year master’s student in Conservation Genetics.

It is an important and exciting time to be doing research in conservation genetics. This is according to Prof Gordon Luikart, Professor of Conservation Ecology and Genetics at the Flathead Lake Bio Station at the University of Montana in the United States. 

Prof Luikart, whose primary research focus is the application of genetics to the conservation of natural and managed populations, recently delivered a lecture, The Expanding Role of Genetics/omics in Wildlife Research and Conservation, on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). The lecture, hosted by the Department of Genetics, was attended by a group of students and lecturers in conservation and a number of related fields. 

He is one of the leading scientists in the field of conservation genetics, including integration of genomics in conservation projects. He is also co-author of the textbook Conservation and the Genomics of populations – the current prescribed textbook for GENE3744.

Species threatened with extinction

In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stated that approximately 10-20% of all vertebrate and plant species are threatened with extinction over the next few decades. In 1984, American biologist Edward O Wilson also said that it will take millions of years to correct the ongoing loss of genetics and species diversity caused by the destruction of natural habitats. “This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.”

Prof Luikart is of the opinion that genetics has enormous potential to help manage wildlife and prevent extirpation. “My research works to realise this potential and help wildlife managers conserve populations and ecosystems,” he says. 

Conservation managers and biologists have understood the risks of inbreeding for more than 100 years. In his lecture, one of the aspects of genetic conservation he focused on, was the negative effects of inbreeding and how this can be reversed using genetic rescue. 

With the genetic rescue study, they found that the gene flow into recently isolated populations can increase individual fitness and population growth. He proposed that conservation managers should consider genetic principles and rescue as practical and important tools. 

Prof Luikart also provided a list of information that can be retrieved from molecular genetic data to help conservation managers. This includes intel on census and effective population size, gene flow and dispersal, local adaptation and selection, forensics, genetic identification and law enforcement, and disease ecology and transmission. 

Non-invasive genetic monitoring

In terms of detecting gene flow, he focused on a study about non-invasive genetic monitoring that was conducted in the Yellowstone Park. Prof Luikart and a group of students collected the shed hair and faeces of the grizzly bear, obtained from trees and hair traps, which were used as a source of DNA. 

They established, for instance, that inbreeding depression is more common and stronger than previously thought in natural populations. Genetic monitoring, using non-invasive methods as described, has been found to be an effective tool that conservation managers should consider for detecting inbreeding and loss of genome-wide variation.

His research on the bighorn sheep, the alpine ibex, and the black bear informed most of the findings he discussed during his lecture.

News Archive

UFS and Mexico forge links
2006-03-30

Some of the guests attending the signing of the memorandum of agreement were in front from the left Prof Wijnand Swart (Chairperson: Centre for Plant Health Management at the UFS), His Excellency Mauricio de Maria y Campos (Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa), Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS) and Dr José Sergio Barrales Domínguez (Rector of the University of Chapingo in Mexico).
Photo: Stephen Collett

UFS and Mexico forge links
The Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) is presenting its first international conference.  The conference started yesterday and will run until tomorrow (Friday 31 March 2006) on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. 

The conference is the first on cactus pear (or prickly pear) in South Africa since 1995.  It coincides with 2006 being declared as International Year of Deserts and Desertification by the United Nations General Assembly. 

During the opening session of the conference yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between CePHMa and the University of Chapingo (Universidad Autonoma Chapingo) in Mexico.  The signing ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa, His Excellency Mauricio de Maria y Campos, the Rector of the University of Chapingo, Dr José Sergio Barrales Domínguez, and the Vice-Rector: Academic Planning of the UFS, Prof Magda Fourie, amongst other important dignitaries. 

“South Africa and Mexico have a lot in common where agricultural practices in semi-arid areas and the role of the cactus pear are concerned,” said Prof Wijnand Swart, Chairperson of CePHMa at the opening of the conference.

He said that the MOU is the result of negotiations between CePHMa and the Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa over the past 12 months.

“The MOU facilitates the negotiation of international cooperative academic initiatives between the two institutions.  This entails the exchange of students and staff members of the UFS, curriculum development, research and community service,” said Prof Swart.

“During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed.  This includes perspectives from commercial cactus pear farmers in South Africa, the health management of cactus pear orchards, selection of new cultivars of cactus pear, and the nutritional and medicinal value of the crop,” said Prof Swart.

In his welcoming message Prof Swart explained that in recent years there has been increased interest in the cactus pear for the important role it can play in sustainable agricultural systems in marginal areas of the world.  These plants have developed phenological and physiological adaptations to sustain their development in adverse environments. 

“The cactus pear can serve as a life saving crop to both humans and animals living in marginal regions by providing a highly digestible source of energy, water, minerals and protein,” said Prof Swart. 

“In an age when global warming and its negative impact on earth’s climate has become an everyday subject of discussion, the exploitation of salt and drought tolerant crops will undoubtedly have many socio-economic benefits to communities inhabiting semi-arid regions,” said Prof Swart.

“Plantations of cactus pear grown for fruit, forage and vegetable production, as well as for natural red dye produced from the cactus scale insect known as cochineal have, over the last two decades, been established in many countries in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.  The crop and its products have not only become important in international markets, but also in local markets across the globe,” said Prof Swart. 

Detailed discussions on the implementation of the MOU will take place between CePHMa and the University of Chapingo after the conference. 

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
30 March 2006

 

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