INVESTIGATION OF THE ALLELIC COMPOSITION OF THE MA-3 MICROSATELLITE LOCUS IN SABLE (MARTES ZIBELLINA L., 1758) OF THE MIDDLE AMUR REGION: ANALYSIS OF THE COLLECTIONS OF SUCCESSIVE HUNTING SEASONS

Abstract

The authors investigated the allele microsatellite locus Ma-3 composition in the Middle Amur Region sable (Martes zibellina). Three subpopulations of animals from the Bureinsky Highlands (Magan, Sutyr and Kamenushka), as well as one from the western macro slope of the Sikhote-Alin ridge (Manoma) were analyzed. The genetic material was collected for the hunting seasons of 2011/2012 – 2017/2018. Subpopulations of the northern (Magan) and middle (Sutyr) parts of the Bureinsky ridge were most similar to each other in their allele composition In the subpopulation of the Bureinsky Highlands southern part (Kamenushka) some slight differences were found. In the Manoma subpopulation, the specific allele 129 was found in hunting catches of 2012-2013 and 2017-2018. The specific allele presence in this subpopulation has proved some geographic isolation between the Sikhote Alin and the Bureinsky Highlands sable populations.