Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project

[Pckts]

Here is the best extensive info I have seen on Lion DNA.
Some parts are past me, maybe @tigerluver can clear up what some of these genetic numbers and ID's mean, but I would assume we need a genetist to explain exactly what each dna code means or how it effects a lion.
Here is the part I found quite interesting
"Natural History of Lions as Inferred from Lion and FIVPle MarkersThe mtDNA coalescence dating suggested that the East African lineage I (Ken haplotype H4) had an old origin of ~324,000 years (95% CI: 145,000–502,000). Extant East African populations (Ken/Ngc/Ser-I/Ser-II/Ser-III) also showed a slightly significant higher nDNA allelic richness and genetic diversity (Table S4) relative to populations to the south (Kru/Nam/Bot-I/Bot-II) and north (Uga/Gir) (A = 2.43, 2.39, and 1.62, P = 0.021; HO = 0.64, 0.62, and 0.34, P = 0.019; respectively). Moreover, the FIVPle subtype diversity was higher in East African clades (exhibiting four out of the six known viral-strains), including the most divergent FIVPle subtype C (Figure 4B and 4C). These genetic data from lions and FIVPle is consistent with the older origin of extant East African lions, which is further supported by the oldest lion fossils discovered in East Africa [1]. Relative to East Africa, Southern lions have a slightly more recent mtDNA coalescence. Lineage II, found in Nam, Bot-II and Kru has an estimated coalescence of 169,000 years (95% CI: 34,000–304,000) and the more widespread lineage IV found in the Southern populations of Bot-I, Bot-II and Kru as well as the Eastern populations of Ser (I, II, and III), Ngc and Uga, coalesces ~101,000 years ago (95% CI: 11,000–191,000). However, the similar levels of nDNA genetic diversity, the occurrence of an exclusively Southern mtDNA lineage II and highly divergent FIVPle subtypes, FIVPle subtype D found only in Kru and subtype E exclusive to Bot-II, suggests that both East and Southern Africa were important refugia for lions during the Pleistocene. Therefore, the co-occurrence of divergent mtDNA haplotypes (6 to 10 mutations; Figure 1B and 1C) in southern populations may be the consequence of further isolation within refugia during colder climatic periods. Contemporary fragmentation of lion populations could further explain the results of nested-clade phylogeographical analysis (NCPA [27]) (Figure S5), which inferred restricted gene flow with isolation-by-distance between mtDNA haplotypes H9 (Bot-II) and H10 (Kru) (χ2 = 10.00, P = 0.0200), between haplotypes H1 (Bot-II/Nam) and H2 (Kru) (χ2 = 71.00, P≤0.0001), and between haplotypes H9–H10 (Bot-II/Kru) and haplotypes H11–H12 (Bot-I/Kru/Ser/Ngc/Uga) (χ2 = 187.83, P≤0.0001). Further isolation within refugia (sub-refugia) may also have occurred in East Africa. This is suggested by the distinctive mtDNA haplotype H4 and the unique FIVPle subtype F found in the Kenya population, which may have resulted from reduced gene flow across the Rift valley, a scenario that has been suggested for several bovid and carnivore populations (see [28] and references therein). The best example of concordance between host genome markers and viral transmission patterns is observed in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Our previous findings described markedly high levels of FIVPle subtype A, B and C circulating within the Serengeti lion population to such an extent that 43% of the lions sampled were multiply-infected with two or three subtypes [15],[18] and were hypothesized to represent recent admixture of three formerly separated populations. Such result is confirmed here by lion genomic markers (Figure 2). Further, although lions within the Serengeti can be assigned to one of three populations (Ser-I, Ser-II or Ser-III) by host genomic markers, FIVPle subtypes are distributed ubiquitously in all three, characteristic of rapid horizontal retroviral transmission subsequent to host population admixture. The possible isolating mechanism remains to be elucidated as there is no apparent barrier to gene flow in this ecosystem."
http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info...en.1000251

What I took from it, is why we may see some lions from the same area be 220-250kg and other lions in the same area be 160kg-180kg. Also may be why no real one area has the largest lion population.

A couple of other excerpts I found Interesting
"Genomic Signatures Left by MigrationBased on patterns of genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of lion nDNA/mtDNA and FIVPle markers, we propose a scenario of a period of refugia/isolation in the Late Pleistocene followed by two major lion expansions across Africa and Asia. The first expansion, supported by the mtDNA NCPA [27] (χ2 = 690.00, P≤0.0001; Figure S5), was a long-distance colonization of mtDNA lineage-III (Gir/Atl/Ang/Zbw) around 118,000 years ago (95% CI: 28,000–208,000), with subsequent fragmentation of haplotypes H5–H6 into Central and North Africa and haplotypes H7–H8 into West Asia (M1- Figure 1A). Support for this initial expansion is also found in nDNA. The ADA haplotype A5 fixed in Gir in also present in Ken, Ser-II, and Ser-III, suggesting that lions likely colonized West Asia from the East Africa refugia (Figure 1B). Such an expansion may have been favored by the start of a warmer and less arid period in Africa 130,000–70,000 years ago [29]. This “out-of-Africa event” would have occurred much later than the initial lion expansion through Eurasia based on fossils (~500,000 years ago) [3]. It is likely that multiple lion expansions occurred in the Pleistocene, as occurred with humans [21]."

"Although we did not explicitly try to address the adequacy of lion subspecies designations (currently only one African subspecies is widely recognized) [38],[39], we provided strong evidence that there is no evidence of substantial genetic exchange of matrilines among existing populations as the AMOVA [40] within-population component was uniformly high in all distinct subdivision scenarios (ΦST≈0.920; P<0.0001; three-six groups; Table S6). Similarly, significant population structure was detected from nDNA (FST = 0.18), with low levels of admixture evident from Bayesian analysis [22] (α = 0.033). Therefore, employing a bottom-up perspective that prioritizes populations, rather than large-scale units (e.g. all African lions), might preserve and maintain lion diversity and evolutionary processes most efficiently [41]." Reply