Abstract: A population of 200 individuals of the golden wild yak inhabits the Chang Tang National Nature Reserve in Tibet. Golden wild yak is characterized by its unique golden hair compared to other black yaks. The genetic information for golden wild yak population is currently unknown due to its small population size,elusive behavior,and poor accessibility of their habitat. In this study,the taxonomic status of golden wild yak population has been preliminarily discussed based on two mitochondrial DNA fragments (i. e. ,Cyt b and D-loop)． The results show that the sequence characteristics,length, nucleotide composition of the two gene fragments of golden wild yak are similar to that of black wild yak and domestic yak.  Golden wild yak is the closest relative to other black wild yaks because the genetic distance between them is the smallest and they are clustered to a clade in a phylogeny tree of Bovine. However,the genetic distance between the golden wild yak and other black wild yaks is larger than the average genetic distance among the black wild yak individuals. Together with the morphological discrepancies,it is suggested that the golden wild yak is a subspecies or an important protection unit of wild yak. Due to the limited sample quantity in the present study,however,further evidence is still needed to corroborate our conclusions.

Key words: Genetic distance, Golden wild yak, Mitochondrial DNA, Phylogeny, Taxonomic status

摘要： 在西藏羌塘国家级自然保护区发现有种群数量约２００ 头的全身被毛为金色的野牦牛。为探究该种金丝野牦牛与普通野牦牛（Bos grunniens mutus）和家牦牛（Bos grunniens）的遗传差异，本研究通过分析金丝野牦牛线粒体ＤＮＡ 中的细胞色素b （Cyt b） 和D-loop 区基因序列差异，初步探讨了金丝野牦牛遗传分类地位。结果表明：金丝野牦牛的这两个基因片段的序列结构特征、长度、核苷酸组成与其他牦牛相似；金丝野牦牛与普通野牦牛的遗传距离最小，在系统树中，它们聚集为一支，说明金丝野牦牛与普通野牦牛亲缘关系最近；但金丝野牦牛与普通野牦牛的遗传距离较普通野牦牛个体间平均遗传距离大，加上毛色等形态区别，我们认为金丝野牦牛为野牦牛的一个亚种或者重要保护单元。但由于样本数量有限，仍需进一步深入研究确定。

关键词: 金丝野牦牛, 线粒体DNA, 遗传距离, 系统发育, 分类地位