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α1-Antitrypsin polymorphism and systematics of eastern North American wolves

L.D. Mech·N.E. Federoff
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Abstract

We used data on the polymorphic status of α 1 -antitrypsin (α 1 AT) to study the relationship of Minnesota wolves to the gray wolf ( Canis lupus ), which was thought to have evolved in Eurasia, and to red wolves ( Canis rufus ) and coyotes ( Canis latrans ), which putatively evolved in North America. Recent evidence had indicated that Minnesota wolves might be more closely related to red wolves and coyotes. Samples from wild-caught Minnesota wolves and from captive wolves, at least some of which originated in Alaska and western Canada, were similarly polymorphic for α 1 AT, whereas coyote and red wolf samples were all monomorphic. Our findings, in conjunction with earlier results, are consistent with the Minnesota wolf being a gray wolf of Eurasian origin or possibly a hybrid between the gray wolf of Eurasian origin and the proposed North American wolf.

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BibTeXRIS

L.D. Mech, N.E. Federoff. 2002. α1-Antitrypsin polymorphism and systematics of eastern North American wolves. https://doi.org/10.1139/z02-066

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