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de Flamingh A, Gnoske TP, Rivera-Colón AG, Simeonovski VA, Kerbis Peterhans JC, Yamaguchi N, Witt KE, Catchen J, Roca AL, Malhi RS. Genomic analysis supports Cape Lion population connectivity prior to colonial eradication and extinction. J Hered 2024; 115:155-165. [PMID: 38150491 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cape lions (Panthera leo melanochaitus) formerly ranged throughout the grassland plains of the "Cape Flats" in what is today known as the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Cape lions were likely eradicated because of overhunting and habitat loss after European colonization. European naturalists originally described Cape lions as "black-maned lions" and claimed that they were phenotypically distinct. However, other depictions and historical descriptions of lions from the Cape report mixed or light coloration and without black or extensively developed manes. These findings suggest that, rather than forming a distinct population, Cape lions may have had phenotypic and genotypic variation similar to other African lions. Here we investigate Cape lion genome characteristics, population dynamics, and genetic distinctiveness prior to their extinction. We generated genomic data from 2 historic Cape lions to compare to 118 existing high-coverage mitogenomes, and low-coverage nuclear genomes of 53 lions from 13 African countries. We show that, before their eradication, lions from the Cape Flats had diverse mitogenomes and nuclear genomes that clustered with lions from both southern and eastern Africa. Cape lions had high genome-wide heterozygosity and low inbreeding coefficients, indicating that populations in the Cape Flats went extinct so rapidly that genomic effects associated with long-term small population size and isolation were not detectable. Our findings do not support the characterization of Cape lions as phylogeographically distinct, as originally put forth by some European naturalists, and illustrates how alternative knowledge systems, for example, Indigenous perspectives, could potentially further inform interpretations of species histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida de Flamingh
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Thomas P Gnoske
- Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, IL, United States
| | | | | | - Julian C Kerbis Peterhans
- Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, IL, United States
- College of Arts & Sciences, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Nobuyuki Yamaguchi
- Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Kelsey E Witt
- Department of Genetics & Biochemistry, Center for Human Genetics, Clemson, SC, United States
| | - Julian Catchen
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Alfred L Roca
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Animal Sciences, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Ripan Singh Malhi
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Anthropology, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
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2
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Brunson K, Witt KE, Monge S, Williams S, Peede D, Odsuren D, Bukhchuluun D, Cameron A, Szpak P, Amartuvshin C, Honeychurch W, Wright J, Pleuger S, Erdene M, Tumen D, Rogers L, Khatanbaatar D, Batdalai B, Galdan G, Janz L. Ancient Mongolian aurochs genomes reveal sustained introgression and management in East Asia. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.10.552443. [PMID: 37609302 PMCID: PMC10441390 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.10.552443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Societies in East Asia have utilized domesticated cattle for over 5000 years, but the genetic history of cattle in East Asia remains understudied. Genome-wide analyses of 23 ancient Mongolian cattle reveal that East Asian aurochs and ancient East Asian taurine cattle are closely related, but neither are closely related to any modern East Asian breeds. We observe binary variation in aurochs diet throughout the early Neolithic, and genomic evidence shows millennia of sustained male-dominated introgression. We identify a unique connection between ancient Mongolian aurochs and the European Hereford breed. These results point to the likelihood of human management of aurochs in Northeast Asia prior to and during the initial adoption of taurine cattle pastoralism.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelsey E. Witt
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry and Center for Human Genetics, Clemson University; Clemson, South Carolina 29634, USA
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University; Providence 02912, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University; Providence 02912, USA
| | - Susan Monge
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - Sloan Williams
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
| | - David Peede
- Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Brown University; Providence 02912, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University; Providence 02912, USA
- Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University; Providence 02912, USA
| | - Davaakhuu Odsuren
- Department of History, Mongolian National University of Education; Ulaanbaatar, Sukhbaatar district, 210648, Mongolia
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - Dashzeveg Bukhchuluun
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem St., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Asa Cameron
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem St., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Paul Szpak
- Department of Anthropology, Trent University; Peterborough K9J 6Y1, Canada
| | - Chunag Amartuvshin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia; Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - William Honeychurch
- Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem St., New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Joshua Wright
- Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, King’s College; Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, UK
| | - Sarah Pleuger
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh; Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Myagmar Erdene
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia; Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - Dashtseveg Tumen
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, National University of Mongolia; Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - Leland Rogers
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina Wilmington; Wilmington, NC 28403, USA
| | - Dorjpurev Khatanbaatar
- School of Business Administration and Humanities, The Mongolian University of Science and Technology; Mongolia
| | - Byambatseren Batdalai
- Archaeological Research Center, National University of Mongolia; Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - Ganbaatar Galdan
- Institute of Archaeology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar-51, Mongolia
| | - Lisa Janz
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough; Scarborough, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
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3
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de Flamingh A, Ishida Y, Pečnerová P, Vilchis S, Siegismund HR, van Aarde RJ, Malhi RS, Roca AL. Combining methods for non-invasive fecal DNA enables whole genome and metagenomic analyses in wildlife biology. Front Genet 2023; 13:1021004. [PMID: 36712847 PMCID: PMC9876978 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1021004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-invasive biological samples benefit studies that investigate rare, elusive, endangered, or dangerous species. Integrating genomic techniques that use non-invasive biological sampling with advances in computational approaches can benefit and inform wildlife conservation and management. Here, we used non-invasive fecal DNA samples to generate low- to medium-coverage genomes (e.g., >90% of the complete nuclear genome at six X-fold coverage) and metagenomic sequences, combining widely available and accessible DNA collection cards with commonly used DNA extraction and library building approaches. DNA preservation cards are easy to transport and can be stored non-refrigerated, avoiding cumbersome or costly sample methods. The genomic library construction and shotgun sequencing approach did not require enrichment or targeted DNA amplification. The utility and potential of the data generated was demonstrated through genome scale and metagenomic analyses of zoo and free-ranging African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). Fecal samples collected from free-ranging individuals contained an average of 12.41% (5.54-21.65%) endogenous elephant DNA. Clustering of these elephants with others from the same geographic region was demonstrated by a principal component analysis of genetic variation using nuclear genome-wide SNPs. Metagenomic analyses identified taxa that included Loxodonta, green plants, fungi, arthropods, bacteria, viruses and archaea, showcasing the utility of this approach for addressing complementary questions based on host-associated DNA, e.g., pathogen and parasite identification. The molecular and bioinformatic analyses presented here contributes towards the expansion and application of genomic techniques to conservation science and practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida de Flamingh
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States,*Correspondence: Alida de Flamingh, ; Ripan S. Malhi, ; Alfred L. Roca,
| | - Yasuko Ishida
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Patrícia Pečnerová
- Section for Computational and RNA Biology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sahara Vilchis
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Hans R. Siegismund
- Section for Computational and RNA Biology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rudi J. van Aarde
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ripan S. Malhi
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States,Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States,*Correspondence: Alida de Flamingh, ; Ripan S. Malhi, ; Alfred L. Roca,
| | - Alfred L. Roca
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States,Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States,*Correspondence: Alida de Flamingh, ; Ripan S. Malhi, ; Alfred L. Roca,
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4
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Stuart KC, Sherwin WB, Edwards RJ, Rollins LA. Evolutionary genomics: Insights from the invasive European starlings. Front Genet 2023; 13:1010456. [PMID: 36685843 PMCID: PMC9845568 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1010456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Two fundamental questions for evolutionary studies are the speed at which evolution occurs, and the way that this evolution may present itself within an organism's genome. Evolutionary studies on invasive populations are poised to tackle some of these pressing questions, including understanding the mechanisms behind rapid adaptation, and how it facilitates population persistence within a novel environment. Investigation of these questions are assisted through recent developments in experimental, sequencing, and analytical protocols; in particular, the growing accessibility of next generation sequencing has enabled a broader range of taxa to be characterised. In this perspective, we discuss recent genetic findings within the invasive European starlings in Australia, and outline some critical next steps within this research system. Further, we use discoveries within this study system to guide discussion of pressing future research directions more generally within the fields of population and evolutionary genetics, including the use of historic specimens, phenotypic data, non-SNP genetic variants (e.g., structural variants), and pan-genomes. In particular, we emphasise the need for exploratory genomics studies across a range of invasive taxa so we can begin understanding broad mechanisms that underpin rapid adaptation in these systems. Understanding how genetic diversity arises and is maintained in a population, and how this contributes to adaptability, requires a deep understanding of how evolution functions at the molecular level, and is of fundamental importance for the future studies and preservation of biodiversity across the globe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina C. Stuart
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia,*Correspondence: Katarina C. Stuart,
| | - William B. Sherwin
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard J. Edwards
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Lee A Rollins
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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5
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Jensen EL, Quinzin MC, Miller JM, Russello MA, Garrick RC, Edwards DL, Glaberman S, Chiari Y, Poulakakis N, Tapia W, Gibbs JP, Caccone A. A new lineage of Galapagos giant tortoises identified from museum samples. Heredity (Edinb) 2022; 128:261-270. [PMID: 35217806 PMCID: PMC8987048 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-022-00510-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Galapagos Archipelago is recognized as a natural laboratory for studying evolutionary processes. San Cristóbal was one of the first islands colonized by tortoises, which radiated from there across the archipelago to inhabit 10 islands. Here, we sequenced the mitochondrial control region from six historical giant tortoises from San Cristóbal (five long deceased individuals found in a cave and one found alive during an expedition in 1906) and discovered that the five from the cave are from a clade that is distinct among known Galapagos giant tortoises but closely related to the species from Española and Pinta Islands. The haplotype of the individual collected alive in 1906 is in the same clade as the haplotype in the contemporary population. To search for traces of a second lineage in the contemporary population on San Cristóbal, we closely examined the population by sequencing the mitochondrial control region for 129 individuals and genotyping 70 of these for both 21 microsatellite loci and >12,000 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]. Only a single mitochondrial haplotype was found, with no evidence to suggest substructure based on the nuclear markers. Given the geographic and temporal proximity of the two deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages in the historical samples, they were likely sympatric, raising the possibility that the lineages coexisted. Without the museum samples, this important discovery of an additional lineage of Galapagos giant tortoise would not have been possible, underscoring the value of such collections and providing insights into the early evolution of this iconic radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn L Jensen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Maud C Quinzin
- MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joshua M Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Michael A Russello
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - Ryan C Garrick
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, 38677, USA
| | - Danielle L Edwards
- Department of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
| | - Scott Glaberman
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Ylenia Chiari
- Department of Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Nikos Poulakakis
- Department of Biology, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Crete, Irakleio, Greece.,The Natural History Museum of Crete, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Crete, Irakleio, Greece
| | - Washington Tapia
- Galapagos Conservancy, 11150 Fairfax Boulevard #408, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA.,University of Málaga, Campus Teatinos, Apdo. 59, 29080, Málaga, Spain
| | - James P Gibbs
- Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Adalgisa Caccone
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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6
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Toussaint EFA, Gauthier J, Bilat J, Gillett CPDT, Gough HM, Lundkvist H, Blanc M, Muñoz-Ramírez CP, Alvarez N. HyRAD-X Exome Capture Museomics Unravels Giant Ground Beetle Evolution. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6275686. [PMID: 33988685 PMCID: PMC8480185 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Advances in phylogenomics contribute toward resolving long-standing evolutionary questions. Notwithstanding, genetic diversity contained within more than a billion biological specimens deposited in natural history museums remains recalcitrant to analysis owing to challenges posed by its intrinsically degraded nature. Yet that tantalizing resource could be critical in overcoming taxon sampling constraints hindering our ability to address major evolutionary questions. We addressed this impediment by developing phyloHyRAD, a new bioinformatic pipeline enabling locus recovery at a broad evolutionary scale from HyRAD-X exome capture of museum specimens of low DNA integrity using a benchtop RAD-derived exome-complexity-reduction probe set developed from high DNA integrity specimens. Our new pipeline can also successfully align raw RNAseq transcriptomic and ultraconserved element reads with the RAD-derived probe catalog. Using this method, we generated a robust timetree for Carabinae beetles, the lack of which had precluded study of macroevolutionary trends pertaining to their biogeography and wing-morphology evolution. We successfully recovered up to 2,945 loci with a mean of 1,788 loci across the exome of specimens of varying age. Coverage was not significantly linked to specimen age, demonstrating the wide exploitability of museum specimens. We also recovered fragmentary mitogenomes compatible with Sanger-sequenced mtDNA. Our phylogenomic timetree revealed a Lower Cretaceous origin for crown group Carabinae, with the extinct Aplothorax Waterhouse, 1841 nested within the genus Calosoma Weber, 1801 demonstrating the junior synonymy of Aplothorax syn. nov., resulting in the new combination Calosoma burchellii (Waterhouse, 1841) comb. nov. This study compellingly illustrates that HyRAD-X and phyloHyRAD efficiently provide genomic-level data sets informative at deep evolutionary scales.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Julia Bilat
- Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Conrad P D T Gillett
- University of Hawai'i Insect Museum, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | - Harlan M Gough
- Florida Natural History Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | | | | | - Carlos P Muñoz-Ramírez
- Instituto de Entomología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación, Santiago, Chile.,Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ambientes Sustentables (CIBAS), Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Chile
| | - Nadir Alvarez
- Natural History Museum of Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Switzerland
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