Biochemical genetic variation in geographic isolates of African and Asiatic lions.

Electrophoretic variation of 46-50 allozyme loci were typed in 4 African and 1 Asiatic (Indian) Panthera leo populations. The African populations revealed moderate amounts of genetic variation compared with other cat species. The lions from the Ngorongoro Crater, a small isolated 'island' population within the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania, had a reduced level of variability which was a precise subset of the larger founder population of the Serengeti plains. The Asiatic lion population from the Gir Forest Sanctuary (Gujarat, W India) is a relict population of <250 individuals. The Gir lions were genetically monomorphic at each of 46 typed loci, suggesting a drastic population bottleneck followed by inbreeding in their recent history. Results suggest that the two subspecies shared a common ancestor recently, estimated at 50 000-200 000 yr BP.-from Authors