Phylogeny of gazelles in some islands of Iran based on mtDNA sequences: Species identification and implications for conservation

Different species of gazelles are among the most endangered mammals on the Asian steppes and occur in the central, southern and northwestern regions of Iran. The previous conservation efforts in this region have been incomplete due to confusion about the phylogenetic relationship among various populations. So that, different conservation programs such as ex-situ breeding and transfer of captive stocks to potential conservation units encountered the fundamental difficulties. This paper provides a phylogenetic study based on the analysis of Cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA sequences in a number of individuals collected from the four wild island gazelles population (Kish, Kharg, Hormoz and Hengam) in the south of Iran which are applicable in phylogenetic studies and species identification  for conservation. After comparing the obtained and retrieved sequences of Genbank in MEGA5 Software and then tracing a related phylogenetic tree, we found two different species in four islands. Therefore, from phylogenetic point of view, Kharg and Kish Islands’ populations belong to Iranian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) and Hengam and Hormoz Islands’ populations are Jebeer or Indian gazelle (Gazella bennettii). Thus, for these two different species, separate conservation programs should be taken to manage populations of these regions and to prevent the exchange gazelles between these Islands.