Population and functional Genomics of the semi-captive Asian Elephants in Myanmar

This project combines genomic data with phenotypic, health, and life-history information from a large semi-captive population of Asian elephants in Myanmar to address key questions in biology, disease, and conservation. By generating crucial genomic resources, including the first reference genome for the species, the research will contribute to the conservation of this endangered species.

Project details

Duration:	2021 - present
Third-party funded:	Yes
Involved Department(s):	Dept Evolutionary Genetics
Leibniz-IZW Project Leader(s):	Camila Mazzoni (Dept Evolutionary Genetics)
Leibniz-IZW Project Team:	Larissa Arantes, Diego De Panis Camila Mazzoni
Consortium Partner(s):	University of Turku (Finland)
Current Funding Organisation:	Academy of Finland
Research Foci:	● Understanding traits and evolutionary adaptations

Human-mediated environmental changes are leading to a rapid and unprecedented wildlife population decline. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are not an exception: they have disappeared from 95% of their historical range. Remarkably, one quarter of the remaining Asian elephants in the world now actually live in captivity, and are employed as draft animals or in tourism. By using a comprehensive longitudinal dataset of the largest semi-captive population of Asian Elephants in the world, located in Myanmar, we aim to combine Genomics information with phenotypes, health and life-history data of Asian Elephants to address fundamental questions in biology, disease and conservation of this endangered species. We generated extensive genomic resources for Asian Elephants from Myanmar, including the first reference genome for the Asian Elephant, 3RADseq data for 297 individuals and whole genomes for 67 individuals. Our ultimate goal is to provide a powerful resource to contribute to the conservation of Asian Elephants.