GENETIC-STUDY OF GAZELLA-GAZELLA - CHROMO SOMAL AND ALLOZYMIC DATA

Some subspecies of Gazella gazella are studied by means of protein ele ctrophoresis (gazella, cora, and erlangeri) and cytogenetics (gazella, cora, erlangeri and farasani), and are compared to G. subgutturosa. V ariability parameters and genetic distances are computed from allozyme data at 24 loci. Percentages of polymorphic loci range between 0 and 20.8%, mean numbers of alleles per locus between I and 1.25 and mean h eterozygosities between 0 and 0.088. Inside G. gazella genetic distanc es range between 0.011 and 0.074 (Rogers' distance) and between 0.017 and 0.075 (Nei's distance). Genetic distances between subspecies of G. gazella and G. subgutturosa are around 0.16: C, GTG, and RBG banded k aryotypes are given. The results are congruent with the subspecific st atus of G. g. gazella, G. g, cora, G. g. erlangeri and G. g. farasani, showing no karyological and only slight allozymic differences between them. These results may be important from a conservation point of vie w, for these populations whose ranges have been significantly declinin g over the last decades.