Press Coverage

Hyderabad: Researchers from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology  – LaCONES (Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species) unveiled the complete genome sequencing of the Slender Loris found in South India, including Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The study presents the first molecular evidence highlighting the genetic divergence and distinctiveness of the Mysore and Malabar Slender Lorises.

LaCONES identified a 2% genetic variation between Mysore and Malabar slender lorises dating back one million years.

The study, conducted by LaCONES scientists Govindhaswamy Umapathy and HN Kumara of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History in Tamil Nadu, has been published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

Slender Lorises, small nocturnal primates confined to India and Sri Lanka, are under threat.The Grey Slender Loris is categorized into various subspecies based on morphological variations and geographical distribution, though lacking support from molecular data.

The research paper’s authors delved into the phylogenetic divergence of two subspecies of the Grey Slender Loris in southern India: the Mysore Slender Loris and the Malabar Slender Loris. “We generated whole genome shotgun sequence data and assembled the entire mitochondrial genomes of representative individuals from their distribution in southern India, comparing them with publicly available mitogenomes of other lorises. We found a 2% variation in gene regions between Mysore and Malabar Slender Lorises,” the authors stated.

Taking into account their substantial sequence variation, evolutionary divergence, established morphological differences, and geographically distinct habitats, the authors proposed recognizing the Mysore and Malabar Slender Lorises as two: Loris lydekkerianus and Loris malabaricus, each representing a unique evolutionary lineage and deserving separate recognition and protection.