Kajian gen Amely Gajah Sumatra (Elephas maximus sumatranus)

Abstract

Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is endemic of Asian elephants in Indonesia, an endangered animal and
listed on Appendix I of CITES. Therefore, information on the status and distribution of the population of Sumatran
elephants, including the distribution of genetic diversity is necessary to facilitate the development of adequate conservation
and management strategies. The purpose of this research was to use Amely gene to trace paternal lineage of Sumatran
elephants based on Y chromosome variation. A total of 22 blood samples of male Sumatran elephants were collected in
Sumatra (Way Kambas , Seblat, Bentayan, Sugihan, dan Bukit Serelo Lahat). We amplified intronic regions of the Ylinked
gene (Amely) using published primer sequences (Amely-R2 and Amely-F2) and sequenced. Sequences generated
from this study, aligned with reference sequences available in the GenBank, namely Elephas maximus (AY823325.1),
Loxodonta Africana (AY 823320.1; AY 823321.1), Loxodonta cyclotis (AY823322.1; AY8233223.1, AY 823324.1).
Neighbour Joining tree of Sumatran elephants was performed using MEGA version 5.2.2. The analysis results of 22-male
Sumatran elephants, indicating that no diversity (no variation) of the Y chromosome obtained among the population of
Sumatran elephants. Sumatran and Asian elephants have the same haplotypes. Further results confirmed that the savanna
elephants (Loxodonta africana ) and the forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis ) formed two (2) separate clades, which shows
two different species. Results obtained in this study may help to design future conservation programs for the species.
Keywords: Sumatran elephant, Amely gene, Y chromosome, Genbank, haplotype