The Present Status of Available Genetic Information for Avian Species Distributing in Japan and on the List of “Nationally Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”

As of 2014, 89 species have been legally designated as “nationally endangered species of wild fauna and flora,” including 37 avian species in Japan. To facilitate the breeding of endangered species and the maintenance of protected habitats, a program for the rehabilitation of natural habitats and maintenance of viable populations is being established by the Ministry of the Environment and other related ministries for 49 of the species on the above list. The programs have already been established for 15 such avian species, and are currently managed by zoos or local authorities. Maintaining genetic diversity is necessary to ensure the stable procreation of endangered species. A decline in breeding potential due to inbreeding can be prevented by careful maintenance of genetic diversity. In addition to the prevention of inbreeding depression, the maintenance of genetic diversity safeguards species’ resistance to pathogens, as well as their capacity to cope with environmental change. This manuscript reports on the status of currently available genetic information for nationally endangered avian species in Japan, with a particular focus on the 15 species included in the conservation and propagation program. In the NCBI “Nucleotide” database, 315 entries were related to sequence information from the 15 endangered species. Mitochondrial DNA-related sequences constituted 238 (75.6%) of these entries. In the NCBI “Genome” database, genome sequence entries for three species were found. As is the case with mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite loci are very useful for endangered species conservation to evaluate genetic diversity. However, information about the endangered avian species’ microsatellite makers is limited. This situation could have a considerable negative impact on captive breeding projects in particular. Hence, the development of microsatellite markers for these species is a priority.