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Genetic Studies
The eastern lowland gorilla has been a focus for genome studies of gorilla and the effects of long-term population decline and inbreeding. The gorilla is not the first non-human primate to undergo genetic sequencing, as the first to be sequenced was the chimpanzee in 2005. There is already evidence of inbreeding due to the small population size, evident through birth defects like syndactyly. One 2015 study sequenced the full genomes of six eastern lowland gorillas with the goal of identifying the amount of diversity among the small population. Information was collected with the intention of using it to plan effective conservation action. Results showed that this the eastern lowland gorilla subspecies was in fact two distinct subgroups. This division could have been due to the small number of individuals sampled, or due to the social structures within the subspecies. Despite this, results show that within the eastern lowland gorilla subspecies, there is an extreme lack of variation. Lack of diversity due to a high level of inbreeding in a small population results in the threat of accumulating deleterious mutations, and could reduce the ability of the subspecies to go through natural selection processes and adapt to their environment. Conservation interventions for the eastern lowland gorilla have suggested implementing captive breeding programs or translocations between the eastern lowland subgroups.

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