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Baker DN, Abueg L, Escalona M, Farquharson KA, Lanyon JM, Le Duc D, Schöneberg T, Absolon D, Sims Y, Fedrigo O, Jarvis ED, Belov K, Hogg CJ, Shapiro B. A chromosome-level genome assembly for the dugong (Dugong dugon). J Hered 2024; 115:212-220. [PMID: 38245832 PMCID: PMC10936554 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esae003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and the Red Sea, with a Vulnerable conservation status, and little is known about many of the more peripheral populations, some of which are thought to be close to extinction. We present a de novo high-quality genome assembly for the dugong from an individual belonging to the well-monitored Moreton Bay population in Queensland, Australia. Our assembly uses long-read PacBio HiFi sequencing and Omni-C data following the Vertebrate Genome Project pipeline to reach chromosome-level contiguity (24 chromosome-level scaffolds; 3.16 Gbp) and high completeness (97.9% complete BUSCOs). We observed relatively high genome-wide heterozygosity, which likely reflects historical population abundance before the last interglacial period, approximately 125,000 yr ago. Demographic inference suggests that dugong populations began declining as sea levels fell after the last interglacial period, likely a result of population fragmentation and habitat loss due to the exposure of seagrass meadows. We find no evidence for ongoing recent inbreeding in this individual. However, runs of homozygosity indicate some past inbreeding. Our draft genome assembly will enable range-wide assessments of genetic diversity and adaptation, facilitate effective management of dugong populations, and allow comparative genomics analyses including with other sirenians, the oldest marine mammal lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothy Nevé Baker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Linelle Abueg
- Vertebrate Genome Laboratory, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Merly Escalona
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Katherine A Farquharson
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Janet M Lanyon
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Diana Le Duc
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Torsten Schöneberg
- Medical Faculty, Rudolf Schönheimer Institute of Biochemistry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Medicine, University of Global Health Equity, Kigali, Rwanda
| | - Dominic Absolon
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | - Ying Sims
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | | | - Erich D Jarvis
- Vertebrate Genome Laboratory, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, United States
| | - Katherine Belov
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Carolyn J Hogg
- Faculty of Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Beth Shapiro
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, United States
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Thibault M, Letourneur Y, Cleguer C, Bonneville C, Briand MJ, Derville S, Bustamante P, Garrigue C. C and N stable isotopes enlighten the trophic behaviour of the dugong (Dugong dugon). Sci Rep 2024; 14:896. [PMID: 38195771 PMCID: PMC10776846 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50578-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The dugong (Dugong dugon), a large marine mammal herbivore of the Indo-Pacific, is vulnerable to extinction at a global scale due to a combination of human-related threats including habitat degradation. The species forages on seagrass habitats (marine phanerogams) and plays a key role in the functioning and sensitivity of these declining coastal ecosystems. The trophic behaviour and plasticity of dugong populations in response to extrinsic and intrinsic factors are therefore crucial features to both dugong and seagrass conservation. Yet, this knowledge remains limited to few visual observations and analyses of mouth, stomach or faecal contents of stranded individuals. We take advantage of a long-term monitoring of stranded individuals from the endangered New Caledonian population to depict features of dugongs' trophic ecology from Carbon and Nitrogen stable isotopes. A total of 59 dugong skin samples were used to portrait the stable isotope niche of dugongs according to their sex and maturity. In light of previous work conducted in New Caledonia, a subset of these samples was used to model the trophic mix of dugong males and females. Our stable isotope mixing models used C and N isotope values of 10 taxa bbelonging to five divisions of metazoans, plants, and chromists. Our results represent the first estimate of the species dietary niche in the isotopic space. They suggest that the diet of dugong calves overlaps more with that of adult females (δ13C: - 6.38 ± 1.13 ‰; δ15N: 2.49 ± 1.10 ‰) than males (δ13C: - 5.92 ± 1.10 ‰; δ15N: 3.69 ± 1.28 ‰). Further, we highlight differences in the expected trophic mix of dugong adult males and females. From these, we formulate a sex-specific foraging behaviour hypothesis in dugongs, whereby lactating females could forage over smaller spatial ranges but more diverse food sources thanmales. The study emphasizes the importance of long-term stranding monitoring programs to study the ecology of marine mammals.. Finally, it depicts an ecological feature that may contribute to the sensitivity of vulnerable dugongs to ongoing changes on tropical coastal ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Thibault
- Centre d'Écologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Station de Biologie Marine, 1 Place de la Croix, 29900, Concarneau, France.
- UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Labex-CORAIL, 98800, Nouméa, New Caledonia.
| | - Yves Letourneur
- UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Labex-CORAIL, 98800, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Christophe Cleguer
- Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Claire Bonneville
- UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Labex-CORAIL, 98800, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Marine J Briand
- CRIOBE, USR 3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, LabEx « Corail », PSL Research University, Université de Perpignan, Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France
| | - Solène Derville
- UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Labex-CORAIL, 98800, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Opération Cétacés, BP 12827, 98802, Nouméa, New Caledonia
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral Environnement Et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266, CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
| | - Claire Garrigue
- UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Labex-CORAIL, 98800, Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Opération Cétacés, BP 12827, 98802, Nouméa, New Caledonia
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