1
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Martin CA, Sheppard EC, Ali HAA, Illera JC, Suh A, Spurgin LG, Richardson DS. Genomic landscapes of divergence among island bird populations: Evidence of parallel adaptation but at different loci? Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17365. [PMID: 38733214 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17365] [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: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
When populations colonise new environments, they may be exposed to novel selection pressures but also suffer from extensive genetic drift due to founder effects, small population sizes and limited interpopulation gene flow. Genomic approaches enable us to study how these factors drive divergence, and disentangle neutral effects from differentiation at specific loci due to selection. Here, we investigate patterns of genetic diversity and divergence using whole-genome resequencing (>22× coverage) in Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii), a passerine endemic to the islands of three north Atlantic archipelagos. Strong environmental gradients, including in pathogen pressure, across populations in the species range, make it an excellent system in which to explore traits important in adaptation and/or incipient speciation. First, we quantify how genomic divergence accumulates across the speciation continuum, that is, among Berthelot's pipit populations, between sub species across archipelagos, and between Berthelot's pipit and its mainland ancestor, the tawny pipit (Anthus campestris). Across these colonisation timeframes (2.1 million-ca. 8000 years ago), we identify highly differentiated loci within genomic islands of divergence and conclude that the observed distributions align with expectations for non-neutral divergence. Characteristic signatures of selection are identified in loci associated with craniofacial/bone and eye development, metabolism and immune response between population comparisons. Interestingly, we find limited evidence for repeated divergence of the same loci across the colonisation range but do identify different loci putatively associated with the same biological traits in different populations, likely due to parallel adaptation. Incipient speciation across these island populations, in which founder effects and selective pressures are strong, may therefore be repeatedly associated with morphology, metabolism and immune defence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Biology Department, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - Hisham A A Ali
- Department of Biology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC-Oviedo University-Principality of Asturias), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Alexander Suh
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
- Department of Organismal Biology - Systematic Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK
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2
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Chen A, Zhao X, Wen J, Zhao X, Wang G, Zhang X, Ren X, Zhang Y, Cheng X, Yu X, Mei X, Wang H, Guo M, Jiang X, Wei G, Wang X, Jiang R, Guo X, Ning Z, Qu L. Genetic parameter estimation and molecular foundation of chicken beak shape. Poult Sci 2024; 103:103666. [PMID: 38703454 PMCID: PMC11087718 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103666] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 03/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The bird beak is mainly functioned as feeding and attacking, and its shape has extremely important significance for survival and reproduction. In chickens, since beak shape could lead to some disadvantages including pecking and waste of feed, it is important to understand the inheritance of chicken beak shape. In the present study, we firstly established 4 indicators to describe the chicken beak shapes, including upper beak length (UL), lower beak length (LL), distance between upper and lower beak tips (DB) and upper beak curvature (BC). And then, we measured the 4 beak shape indicators as well as some production traits including body weight (BW), shank length (SL), egg weight (EW), eggshell strength (ES) of a layer breed, Rhode Island Red (RIR), in order to estimate genetic parameters of chicken beak shape. The heritabilities of UL and LL were 0.41 and 0.37, and the heritabilities of DB and BC were 0.22 and 0.21, indicating that beak shape was a highly or mediumly heritable. There were significant positive genetic and phenotypic correlations among UL, LL, and DB. And UL was positively correlated with body weight (BW18) and shank length (SL18) at 18 weeks of age in genetics, and DB was positively correlated with BC in terms of genetics and phenotype. We also found that layers of chicken cages played a role on beak shape, which could be attributed to the difference of lightness in different cage layers. By a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for the chicken UL, we identified 9 significant candidate genes associated with UL in RIR. For the variants with low minor allele frequencies (MAF <0.01) and outside of high linkage disequilibrium (LD) regions, we also conducted rare variant association studies (RVA) and GWAS to find the association between genotype and phenotype. We also analyzed transcriptomic data from multiple tissues of chicken embryos and revealed that all of the 9 genes were highly expressed in beak of chicken embryos, indicating their potential function for beak development. Our results provided the genetic foundation of chicken beak shape, which could help chicken breeding on beak related traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anqi Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhao
- Xingrui Agricultural Stock Breeding, Baoding 072550, Hebei Province, China
| | - Junhui Wen
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
| | - Xiurong Zhao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Gang Wang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xinye Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xufang Ren
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yalan Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xue Cheng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaofan Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaohan Mei
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Huie Wang
- Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
| | - Menghan Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Xiaoyu Jiang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Guozhen Wei
- Qingliu Animal Husbandry, Veterinary and Aquatic Products Center, Sanming, China
| | - Xue Wang
- VVBK Animal Medical Diagnostic Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Beijing, China
| | - Runshen Jiang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Xing Guo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
| | - Zhonghua Ning
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Lujiang Qu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Key Laboratory of Protection and Utilization of Biological Resources in Tarim Basin, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China.
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3
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David G, Bertolotti A, Layer R, Scofield D, Hayward A, Baril T, Burnett HA, Gudmunds E, Jensen H, Husby A. Calling Structural Variants with Confidence from Short-Read Data in Wild Bird Populations. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae049. [PMID: 38489588 PMCID: PMC11018544 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae049] [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: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Comprehensive characterization of structural variation in natural populations has only become feasible in the last decade. To investigate the population genomic nature of structural variation, reproducible and high-confidence structural variation callsets are first required. We created a population-scale reference of the genome-wide landscape of structural variation across 33 Nordic house sparrows (Passer domesticus). To produce a consensus callset across all samples using short-read data, we compare heuristic-based quality filtering and visual curation (Samplot/PlotCritic and Samplot-ML) approaches. We demonstrate that curation of structural variants is important for reducing putative false positives and that the time invested in this step outweighs the potential costs of analyzing short-read-discovered structural variation data sets that include many potential false positives. We find that even a lenient manual curation strategy (e.g. applied by a single curator) can reduce the proportion of putative false positives by up to 80%, thus enriching the proportion of high-confidence variants. Crucially, in applying a lenient manual curation strategy with a single curator, nearly all (>99%) variants rejected as putative false positives were also classified as such by a more stringent curation strategy using three additional curators. Furthermore, variants rejected by manual curation failed to reflect the expected population structure from SNPs, whereas variants passing curation did. Combining heuristic-based quality filtering with rapid manual curation of structural variants in short-read data can therefore become a time- and cost-effective first step for functional and population genomic studies requiring high-confidence structural variation callsets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel David
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Ryan Layer
- BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Douglas Scofield
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alexander Hayward
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Tobias Baril
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Hamish A Burnett
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Erik Gudmunds
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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4
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Saatoglu D, Lundregan SL, Fetterplace E, Goedert D, Husby A, Niskanen AK, Muff S, Jensen H. The genetic basis of dispersal in a vertebrate metapopulation. Mol Ecol 2024; 33:e17295. [PMID: 38396362 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17295] [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: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Dispersal affects evolutionary processes by changing population size and genetic composition, influencing the viability and persistence of populations. Investigating which mechanisms underlie variation in dispersal phenotypes and whether populations harbour adaptive potential for dispersal is crucial to understanding the eco-evolutionary dynamics of this important trait. Here, we investigate the genetic architecture of dispersal among successfully recruited individuals in an insular metapopulation of house sparrows. We use an extensive long-term individual-based ecological data set and high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes for over 2500 individuals. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS), and found a relationship between dispersal probability and a SNP located near genes known to regulate circadian rhythm, glycogenesis and exercise performance, among other functions. However, this SNP only explained 3.8% of variance, suggesting that dispersal is a polygenic trait. We then used an animal model to estimate heritable genetic variation (σA 2 ), which composes 10% of the total variation in dispersal probability. Finally, we investigated differences in σA 2 across populations occupying ecologically relevant habitat types (farm vs. non-farm) using a genetic groups animal model. We found different adaptive potentials across habitats, with higher mean breeding value, σA 2 , and heritability for the habitat presenting lower dispersal rates, suggesting also different roles of environmental variation. Our results suggest a complex genetic architecture of dispersal and demonstrate that adaptive potential may be environment dependent in key eco-evolutionary traits. The eco-evolutionary implications of such environment dependence and consequent spatial variation are likely to become ever more important with the increased fragmentation and loss of suitable habitats for many natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilan Saatoglu
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah L Lundregan
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Evelyn Fetterplace
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Debora Goedert
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alina K Niskanen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Stefanie Muff
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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5
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Knutie SA, Webster CN, Vaziri GJ, Albert L, Harvey JA, LaRue M, Verrett TB, Soldo A, Koop JAH, Chaves JA, Wegrzyn JL. Urban living can rescue Darwin's finches from the lethal effects of invasive vampire flies. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17145. [PMID: 38273516 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Human activity changes multiple factors in the environment, which can have positive or negative synergistic effects on organisms. However, few studies have explored the causal effects of multiple anthropogenic factors, such as urbanization and invasive species, on animals and the mechanisms that mediate these interactions. This study examines the influence of urbanization on the detrimental effect of invasive avian vampire flies (Philornis downsi) on endemic Darwin's finches in the Galápagos Islands. We experimentally manipulated nest fly abundance in urban and non-urban locations and then characterized nestling health, fledging success, diet, and gene expression patterns related to host defense. Fledging success of non-parasitized nestlings from urban (79%) and non-urban (75%) nests did not differ significantly. However, parasitized, non-urban nestlings lost more blood, and fewer nestlings survived (8%) compared to urban nestlings (50%). Stable isotopic values (δ15 N) from urban nestling feces were higher than those from non-urban nestlings, suggesting that urban nestlings are consuming more protein. δ15 N values correlated negatively with parasite abundance, which suggests that diet might influence host defenses (e.g., tolerance and resistance). Parasitized, urban nestlings differentially expressed genes within pathways associated with red blood cell production (tolerance) and pro-inflammatory response (innate immunological resistance), compared to parasitized, non-urban nestlings. In contrast, parasitized non-urban nestlings differentially expressed genes within pathways associated with immunoglobulin production (adaptive immunological resistance). Our results suggest that urban nestlings are investing more in pro-inflammatory responses to resist parasites but also recovering more blood cells to tolerate blood loss. Although non-urban nestlings are mounting an adaptive immune response, it is likely a last effort by the immune system rather than an effective defense against avian vampire flies since few nestlings survived.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Knutie
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Cynthia N Webster
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Grace J Vaziri
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Lauren Albert
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Johanna A Harvey
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Department of Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| | - Michelle LaRue
- School of Earth and Environment, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Taylor B Verrett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Alexandria Soldo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jennifer A H Koop
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
| | - Jaime A Chaves
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Jill L Wegrzyn
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
- Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
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6
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Enbody ED, Sendell-Price AT, Sprehn CG, Rubin CJ, Visscher PM, Grant BR, Grant PR, Andersson L. Community-wide genome sequencing reveals 30 years of Darwin's finch evolution. Science 2023; 381:eadf6218. [PMID: 37769091 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf6218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental goal in evolutionary biology is to understand the genetic architecture of adaptive traits. Using whole-genome data of 3955 of Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Island of Daphne Major, we identified six loci of large effect that explain 45% of the variation in the highly heritable beak size of Geospiza fortis, a key ecological trait. The major locus is a supergene comprising four genes. Abrupt changes in allele frequencies at the loci accompanied a strong change in beak size caused by natural selection during a drought. A gradual change in Geospiza scandens occurred across 30 years as a result of introgressive hybridization with G. fortis. This study shows how a few loci with large effect on a fitness-related trait contribute to the genetic potential for rapid adaptive radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik D Enbody
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ashley T Sendell-Price
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - C Grace Sprehn
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carl-Johan Rubin
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter M Visscher
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, 306 Carmody Rd., St. Lucia QLD 4072, Australia
| | - B Rosemary Grant
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Peter R Grant
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, 106A Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Leif Andersson
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, 402 Raymond Stotzer Pkwy Building 2, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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7
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Nafstad ÅM, Rønning B, Aase K, Ringsby TH, Hagen IJ, Ranke PS, Kvalnes T, Stawski C, Räsänen K, Saether BE, Muff S, Jensen H. Spatial variation in the evolutionary potential and constraints of basal metabolic rate and body mass in a wild bird. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:650-662. [PMID: 36811205 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
An organism's energy budget is strongly related to resource consumption, performance, and fitness. Hence, understanding the evolution of key energetic traits, such as basal metabolic rate (BMR), in natural populations is central for understanding life-history evolution and ecological processes. Here we used quantitative genetic analyses to study evolutionary potential of BMR in two insular populations of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). We obtained measurements of BMR and body mass (Mb ) from 911 house sparrows on the islands of Leka and Vega along the coast of Norway. These two populations were the source populations for translocations to create an additional third, admixed 'common garden' population in 2012. With the use of a novel genetic group animal model concomitant with a genetically determined pedigree, we differentiate genetic and environmental sources of variation, thereby providing insight into the effects of spatial population structure on evolutionary potential. We found that the evolutionary potential of BMR was similar in the two source populations, whereas the Vega population had a somewhat higher evolutionary potential of Mb than the Leka population. BMR was genetically correlated with Mb in both populations, and the conditional evolutionary potential of BMR (independent of body mass) was 41% (Leka) and 53% (Vega) lower than unconditional estimates. Overall, our results show that there is potential for BMR to evolve independently of Mb , but that selection on BMR and/or Mb may have different evolutionary consequences in different populations of the same species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ådne M Nafstad
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bernt Rønning
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kenneth Aase
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ingerid J Hagen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Peter S Ranke
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Clare Stawski
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Katja Räsänen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylän, Finland
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Stefanie Muff
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Mathematical Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
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8
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Pepke ML, Kvalnes T, Lundregan S, Boner W, Monaghan P, Saether BE, Jensen H, Ringsby TH. Genetic architecture and heritability of early-life telomere length in a wild passerine. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6360-6381. [PMID: 34825754 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Early-life telomere length (TL) is associated with fitness in a range of organisms. Little is known about the genetic basis of variation in TL in wild animal populations, but to understand the evolutionary and ecological significance of TL it is important to quantify the relative importance of genetic and environmental variation in TL. In this study, we measured TL in 2746 house sparrow nestlings sampled across 20 years and used an animal model to show that there is a small heritable component of early-life TL (h2 = 0.04). Variation in TL among individuals was mainly driven by environmental (annual) variance, but also brood and parental effects. Parent-offspring regressions showed a large maternal inheritance component in TL ( h maternal 2 = 0.44), but no paternal inheritance. We did not find evidence for a negative genetic correlation underlying the observed negative phenotypic correlation between TL and structural body size. Thus, TL may evolve independently of body size and the negative phenotypic correlation is likely to be caused by nongenetic environmental effects. We further used genome-wide association analysis to identify genomic regions associated with TL variation. We identified several putative genes underlying TL variation; these have been inferred to be involved in oxidative stress, cellular growth, skeletal development, cell differentiation and tumorigenesis in other species. Together, our results show that TL has a low heritability and is a polygenic trait strongly affected by environmental conditions in a free-living bird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Le Pepke
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah Lundregan
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Winnie Boner
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Pat Monaghan
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
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9
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Lundregan SL, Mäkinen H, Buer A, Holand H, Jensen H, Husby A. Infection by a helminth parasite is associated with changes in
DNA
methylation in the house sparrow. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9539. [PMCID: PMC9702581 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Lundregan
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Hannu Mäkinen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Amberly Buer
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Håkon Holand
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology and Genetics Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
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10
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Inbreeding is associated with shorter early-life telomere length in a wild passerine. CONSERV GENET 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-022-01441-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractInbreeding can have negative effects on survival and reproduction, which may be of conservation concern in small and isolated populations. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying inbreeding depression are not well-known. The length of telomeres, the DNA sequences protecting chromosome ends, has been associated with health or fitness in several species. We investigated effects of inbreeding on early-life telomere length in two small island populations of wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) known to be affected by inbreeding depression. Using genomic measures of inbreeding we found that inbred nestling house sparrows (n = 371) have significantly shorter telomeres. Using pedigree-based estimates of inbreeding we found a tendency for inbred nestling house sparrows to have shorter telomeres (n = 1195). This negative effect of inbreeding on telomere length may have been complemented by a heterosis effect resulting in longer telomeres in individuals that were less inbred than the population average. Furthermore, we found some evidence of stronger effects of inbreeding on telomere length in males than females. Thus, telomere length may reveal subtle costs of inbreeding in the wild and demonstrate a route by which inbreeding negatively impacts the physiological state of an organism already at early life-history stages.
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11
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Cheek RG, Forester BR, Salerno PE, Trumbo DR, Chen N, Sillett TS, Morrison SA, Ghalambor CK, Funk WC. Habitat-linked genetic variation supports microgeographic adaptive divergence in an island-endemic bird species. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:2830-2846. [PMID: 35315161 PMCID: PMC9325526 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the potential mechanisms driving habitat-linked genetic divergence within a bird species endemic to a single 250 km2 island. The island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis) exhibits microgeographic divergence in bill morphology across pine-oak ecotones on Santa Cruz Island, California (USA) similar to adaptive differences described in mainland congeners over much larger geographic scales. To test whether individuals exhibit genetic differentiation related to habitat type and divergence in bill length, we genotyped over 3,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 123 adult island scrub-jay males from across Santa Cruz Island using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq). Neutral landscape genomic analyses revealed that genome-wide genetic differentiation was primarily related to geographic distance and differences in habitat composition. We also found 168 putatively adaptive loci associated with habitat type using multivariate redundancy analysis (RDA) while controlling for spatial effects. Finally, two genome-wide association analyses revealed a polygenic basis to variation in bill length with multiple loci detected in or near genes known to affect bill morphology in other birds. Our findings support the hypothesis that divergent selection at microgeographic scales can cause adaptive divergence in the presence of ongoing gene flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca G Cheek
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Brenna R Forester
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Patricia E Salerno
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Centro de Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Cambio Climático (BioCamb), Facultad de Ciencias de Medio Ambiente, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Daryl R Trumbo
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Nancy Chen
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - T Scott Sillett
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | | | - Cameron K Ghalambor
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), N-7491, Trondheim, Norway
| | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
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12
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Duntsch L, Brekke P, Ewen JG, Santure AW. Who are you? A framework to identify and report genetic sample mix-ups. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:1855-1867. [PMID: 34907643 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sample mix-ups occur when samples have accidentally been duplicated, mislabelled or swapped. When samples are subsequently genotyped or sequenced, this can lead to individual IDs being incorrectly linked to genetic data, resulting in incorrect or biased research results, or reduced power to detect true biological patterns. We surveyed the community and found that almost 80% of responding researchers have encountered sample mix-ups. However, many recent studies in the field of molecular ecology do not appear to systematically report individual assignment checks as part of their publications. Although checks may be done, lack of consistent reporting means that it is difficult to assess whether sample mix-ups have occurred or been detected. Here, we present an easy-to-follow sample verification framework that can utilise existing metadata, including species, population structure, sex and pedigree information. We demonstrate its application to a dataset representing individuals of a threatened Aotearoa New Zealand bird species, the hihi, genotyped on a 50K SNP array. We detected numerous incorrect genotype-ID associations when comparing observed and genetic sex or comparing to relationships in a verified microsatellite pedigree. The framework proposed here helped to confirm 488 individuals (39%), correct another 20 bird-genotype links, and detect hundreds of incorrect sample IDs, emphasizing the value of routinely checking genetic and genomic datasets for their accuracy. We therefore promote the implementation and reporting of this simple yet effective sample verification framework as a standardized quality control step for studies in the field of molecular ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Duntsch
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Patricia Brekke
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | - John G Ewen
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | - Anna W Santure
- Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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13
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Gamboa MP, Ghalambor CK, Scott Sillett T, Morrison SA, Chris Funk W. Adaptive divergence in bill morphology and other thermoregulatory traits is facilitated by restricted gene flow in song sparrows on the California Channel Islands. Mol Ecol 2021; 31:603-619. [PMID: 34704295 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Disentangling the effects of neutral and adaptive processes in maintaining phenotypic variation across environmental gradients is challenging in natural populations. Song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) on the California Channel Islands occupy a pronounced east-west climate gradient within a small spatial scale, providing a unique opportunity to examine the interaction of genetic isolation (reduced gene flow) and the environment (selection) in driving variation. We used reduced representation genomic libraries to infer the role of neutral processes (drift and restricted gene flow) and divergent selection in driving variation in thermoregulatory traits with an emphasis on the mechanisms that maintain bill divergence among islands. Analyses of 22,029 neutral SNPs confirm distinct population structure by island with restricted gene flow and relatively large effective population sizes, suggesting bill differences are probably not a product of genetic drift. Instead, we found strong support for local adaptation using 3294 SNPs in differentiation-based and environmental association analyses coupled with genome-wide association tests. Specifically, we identified several putatively adaptive and candidate loci in or near genes involved in bill development pathways (e.g., BMP, CaM, Wnt), confirming the highly complex and polygenic architecture underlying bill morphology. Furthermore, we found divergence in genes associated with other thermoregulatory traits (i.e., feather structure, plumage colour, and physiology). Collectively, these results suggest strong divergent selection across an island archipelago results in genomic changes in a suite of traits associated with climate adaptation over small spatial scales. Future research should move beyond studying univariate traits to better understand multidimensional responses to complex environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maybellene P Gamboa
- Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
| | - Cameron K Ghalambor
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.,Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - T Scott Sillett
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | | | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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14
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Tietgen L, Hagen IJ, Kleven O, Bernardi CD, Kvalnes T, Norén K, Hasselgren M, Wallén JF, Angerbjörn A, Landa A, Eide NE, Flagstad Ø, Jensen H. Fur colour in the Arctic fox: genetic architecture and consequences for fitness. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211452. [PMID: 34583587 PMCID: PMC8479361 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies provide good opportunities for studying the genetic basis of adaptive traits in wild populations. Yet, previous studies often failed to identify major effect genes. In this study, we used high-density single nucleotide polymorphism and individual fitness data from a wild non-model species. Using a whole-genome approach, we identified the MC1R gene as the sole causal gene underlying Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus fur colour. Further, we showed the adaptive importance of fur colour genotypes through measures of fitness that link ecological and evolutionary processes. We found a tendency for blue foxes that are heterozygous at the fur colour locus to have higher fitness than homozygous white foxes. The effect of genotype on fitness was independent of winter duration but varied with prey availability, with the strongest effect in years of increasing rodent populations. MC1R is located in a genomic region with high gene density, and we discuss the potential for indirect selection through linkage and pleiotropy. Our study shows that whole-genome analyses can be successfully applied to wild species and identify major effect genes underlying adaptive traits. Furthermore, we show how this approach can be used to identify knowledge gaps in our understanding of interactions between ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Tietgen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7491, Norway.,Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Ingerid J Hagen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7491, Norway.,Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Oddmund Kleven
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Cecilia Di Bernardi
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway.,Department of Biology and Biotechnologies 'Charles Darwin', University of Rome La Sapienza, Viale dell' Università 32, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7491, Norway
| | - Karin Norén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Malin Hasselgren
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Johan Fredrik Wallén
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden.,Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm 10405, Sweden
| | - Anders Angerbjörn
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Arild Landa
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Nina E Eide
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Øystein Flagstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim 7485, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7491, Norway
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15
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Lee KD, Millar CD, Brekke P, Whibley A, Ewen JG, Hingston M, Zhu A, Santure AW. The design and application of a 50 K SNP chip for a threatened Aotearoa New Zealand passerine, the hihi. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:415-429. [PMID: 34323011 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Next-generation sequencing has transformed the fields of ecological and evolutionary genetics by allowing for cost-effective identification of genome-wide variation. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, or "SNP chips", enable very large numbers of individuals to be consistently genotyped at a selected set of these identified markers, and also offer the advantage of being able to analyse samples of variable DNA quality. We used reduced representation restriction-aided digest sequencing (RAD-seq) of 31 birds of the threatened hihi (Notiomystis cincta; stitchbird) and low-coverage whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 10 of these birds to develop an Affymetrix 50 K SNP chip. We overcame the limitations of having no hihi reference genome and a low quantity of sequence data by separate and pooled de novo assembly of each of the 10 WGS birds. Reads from all individuals were mapped back to these de novo assemblies to identify SNPs. A subset of RAD-seq and WGS SNPs were selected for inclusion on the chip, prioritising SNPs with the highest quality scores whose flanking sequence uniquely aligned to the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) genome. Of the 58,466 SNPs manufactured on the chip, 72% passed filtering metrics and were polymorphic. By genotyping 1,536 hihi on the array, we found that SNPs detected in multiple assemblies were more likely to successfully genotype, representing a cost-effective approach to identify SNPs for genotyping. Here, we demonstrate the utility of the SNP chip by describing the high rates of linkage disequilibrium in the hihi genome, reflecting the history of population bottlenecks in the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate D Lee
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Craig D Millar
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Patricia Brekke
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK
| | - Annabel Whibley
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - John G Ewen
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK
| | - Melanie Hingston
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Amy Zhu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Anna W Santure
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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16
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Saatoglu D, Niskanen AK, Kuismin M, Ranke PS, Hagen IJ, Araya-Ajoy YG, Kvalnes T, Pärn H, Rønning B, Ringsby TH, Saether BE, Husby A, Sillanpää MJ, Jensen H. Dispersal in a house sparrow metapopulation: An integrative case study of genetic assignment calibrated with ecological data and pedigree information. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:4740-4756. [PMID: 34270821 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal has a crucial role determining ecoevolutionary dynamics through both gene flow and population size regulation. However, to study dispersal and its consequences, one must distinguish immigrants from residents. Dispersers can be identified using telemetry, capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods, or genetic assignment methods. All of these methods have disadvantages, such as high costs and substantial field efforts needed for telemetry and CMR surveys, and adequate genetic distance required in genetic assignment. In this study, we used genome-wide 200K Single Nucleotide Polymorphism data and two different genetic assignment approaches (GSI_SIM, Bayesian framework; BONE, network-based estimation) to identify the dispersers in a house sparrow (Passer domesticus) metapopulation sampled over 16 years. Our results showed higher assignment accuracy with BONE. Hence, we proceeded to diagnose potential sources of errors in the assignment results from the BONE method due to variation in levels of interpopulation genetic differentiation, intrapopulation genetic variation and sample size. We show that assignment accuracy is high even at low levels of genetic differentiation and that it increases with the proportion of a population that has been sampled. Finally, we highlight that dispersal studies integrating both ecological and genetic data provide robust assessments of the dispersal patterns in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilan Saatoglu
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Alina K Niskanen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.,Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Markku Kuismin
- Research Unit of Mathematical Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Peter S Ranke
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ingerid J Hagen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.,Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Yimen G Araya-Ajoy
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Pärn
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bernt Rønning
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mikko J Sillanpää
- Research Unit of Mathematical Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Finland.,Infotech Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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17
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Sendell-Price AT, Ruegg KC, Robertson BC, Clegg SM. An island-hopping bird reveals how founder events shape genome-wide divergence. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:2495-2510. [PMID: 33826187 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
When populations colonize new areas, both strong selection and strong drift can be experienced due to novel environments and small founding populations, respectively. Empirical studies have predominantly focused on the phenotype when assessing the role of selection, and limited neutral-loci when assessing founder-induced loss of diversity. Consequently, the extent to which processes interact to influence evolutionary trajectories is difficult to assess. Genomic-level approaches provide the opportunity to simultaneously consider these processes. Here, we examine the roles of selection and drift in shaping genomic diversity and divergence in historically documented sequential island colonizations by the silvereye (Zosterops lateralis). We provide the first empirical demonstration of the rapid appearance of highly diverged genomic regions following population founding, the position of which are highly idiosyncratic. As these regions rarely contained loci putatively under selection, it is most likely that these differences arise via the stochastic nature of the founding process. However, selection is required to explain rapid evolution of larger body size in insular silvereyes. Reconciling our genomic data with these phenotypic patterns suggests there may be many genomic routes to the island phenotype, which vary across populations. Finally, we show that accelerated divergence associated with multiple founding steps is the product of genome-wide rather than localized differences, and that diversity erodes due to loss of rare alleles. However, even multiple founder events do not result in divergence and diversity levels seen in evolutionary older subspecies, and therefore do not provide a shortcut to speciation as proposed by founder-effect speciation models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Sendell-Price
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Kristen C Ruegg
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | - Sonya M Clegg
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia
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18
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Martin CA, Armstrong C, Illera JC, Emerson BC, Richardson DS, Spurgin LG. Genomic variation, population history and within-archipelago adaptation between island bird populations. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201146. [PMID: 33972847 PMCID: PMC8074581 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Oceanic island archipelagos provide excellent models to understand evolutionary processes. Colonization events and gene flow can interact with selection to shape genetic variation at different spatial scales. Landscape-scale variation in biotic and abiotic factors may drive fine-scale selection within islands, while long-term evolutionary processes may drive divergence between distantly related populations. Here, we examine patterns of population history and selection between recently diverged populations of the Berthelot's pipit (Anthus berthelotii), a passerine endemic to three North Atlantic archipelagos. First, we use demographic trees and f3 statistics to show that genome-wide divergence across the species range is largely shaped by colonization and bottlenecks, with evidence of very weak gene flow between populations. Then, using a genome scan approach, we identify signatures of divergent selection within archipelagos at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes potentially associated with craniofacial development and DNA repair. We did not detect within-archipelago selection at the same SNPs as were detected previously at broader spatial scales between archipelagos, but did identify signatures of selection at loci associated with similar biological functions. These findings suggest that similar ecological factors may repeatedly drive selection between recently separated populations, as well as at broad spatial scales across varied landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia A. Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Claire Armstrong
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
- NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Juan Carlos Illera
- Oviedo University, Campus of Mieres, Research Unit of Biodiversity (UO-CSIC-PA), Research Building, 5th floor, c/Gonzalo Gutiérrez Quirós, s/n, 33600 Mieres, Asturias, Spain
| | - Brent C. Emerson
- Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology (IPNA-CSIC), C/Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 3, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Lewis G. Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
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19
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Duntsch L, Tomotani BM, de Villemereuil P, Brekke P, Lee KD, Ewen JG, Santure AW. Polygenic basis for adaptive morphological variation in a threatened Aotearoa | New Zealand bird, the hihi ( Notiomystis cincta). Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200948. [PMID: 32842928 PMCID: PMC7482260 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
To predict if a threatened species can adapt to changing selective pressures, it is crucial to understand the genetic basis of adaptive traits, especially in species historically affected by severe bottlenecks. We estimated the heritability of three hihi (Notiomystis cincta) morphological traits known to be under selection (nestling tarsus length, body mass and head-bill length) using 523 individuals and 39 699 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a 50 K Affymetrix SNP chip. We then examined the genetic architecture of the traits via chromosome partitioning analyses and genome-wide association scans (GWAS). Heritabilities estimated using pedigree relatedness or genomic relatedness were low. For tarsus length, the proportion of genetic variance explained by each chromosome was positively correlated with its size, and more than one chromosome explained significant variation for body mass and head-bill length. Finally, GWAS analyses suggested many loci of small effect contributing to trait variation for all three traits, although one locus (an SNP within an intron of the transcription factor HEY2) was tentatively associated with tarsus length. Our findings suggest a polygenic nature for the morphological traits, with many small effect size loci contributing to the majority of the variation, similar to results from many other wild populations. However, the small effective population size, polygenic architecture and already low heritabilities suggest that both the total response and rate of response to selection are likely to be limited in hihi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Duntsch
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Pierre de Villemereuil
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), École Pratique des Hautes Études PSL, MNHN, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université des Antilles, Paris, France
| | - Patricia Brekke
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | - Kate D. Lee
- School of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - John G. Ewen
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, UK
| | - Anna W. Santure
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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20
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An 85K SNP Array Uncovers Inbreeding and Cryptic Relatedness in an Antarctic Fur Seal Breeding Colony. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:2787-2799. [PMID: 32540866 PMCID: PMC7407454 DOI: 10.1534/g3.120.401268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
High density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays allow large numbers of individuals to be rapidly and cost-effectively genotyped at large numbers of genetic markers. However, despite being widely used in studies of humans and domesticated plants and animals, SNP arrays are lacking for most wild organisms. We developed a custom 85K Affymetrix Axiom array for an intensively studied pinniped, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella). SNPs were discovered from a combination of genomic and transcriptomic resources and filtered according to strict criteria. Out of a total of 85,359 SNPs tiled on the array, 75,601 (88.6%) successfully converted and were polymorphic in 270 animals from a breeding colony at Bird Island in South Georgia. Evidence was found for inbreeding, with three genomic inbreeding coefficients being strongly intercorrelated and the proportion of the genome in runs of homozygosity being non-zero in all individuals. Furthermore, analysis of genomic relatedness coefficients identified previously unknown first-degree relatives and multiple second-degree relatives among a sample of ostensibly unrelated individuals. Such “cryptic relatedness” within fur seal breeding colonies may increase the likelihood of consanguineous matings and could therefore have implications for understanding fitness variation and mate choice. Finally, we demonstrate the cross-amplification potential of the array in three related pinniped species. Overall, our SNP array will facilitate future studies of Antarctic fur seals and has the potential to serve as a more general resource for the wider pinniped research community.
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21
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Perrier C, Rougemont Q, Charmantier A. Demographic history and genomics of local adaptation in blue tit populations. Evol Appl 2020; 13:1145-1165. [PMID: 32684952 PMCID: PMC7359843 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genomic processes underlying local adaptation is a central aim of modern evolutionary biology. This task requires identifying footprints of local selection but also estimating spatio‐temporal variations in population demography and variations in recombination rate and in diversity along the genome. Here, we investigated these parameters in blue tit populations inhabiting deciduous versus evergreen forests, and insular versus mainland areas, in the context of a previously described strong phenotypic differentiation. Neighboring population pairs of deciduous and evergreen habitats were weakly genetically differentiated (FST = 0.003 on average), nevertheless with a statistically significant effect of habitat type on the overall genetic structure. This low differentiation was consistent with the strong and long‐lasting gene flow between populations inferred by demographic modeling. In turn, insular and mainland populations were moderately differentiated (FST = 0.08 on average), in line with the inference of moderate ancestral migration, followed by isolation since the end of the last glaciation. Effective population sizes were large, yet smaller on the island than on the mainland. Weak and nonparallel footprints of divergent selection between deciduous and evergreen populations were consistent with their high connectivity and the probable polygenic nature of local adaptation in these habitats. In turn, stronger footprints of divergent selection were identified between long isolated insular versus mainland birds and were more often found in regions of low recombination, as expected from theory. Lastly, we identified a genomic inversion on the mainland, spanning 2.8 Mb. These results provide insights into the demographic history and genetic architecture of local adaptation in blue tit populations at multiple geographic scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Perrier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Univ Montpellier CNRS EPHE IRD Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 Montpellier France.,Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations UMR CBGP INRAE CIRAD IRD Montpellier SupAgro Univ Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Quentin Rougemont
- Département de Biologie Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS) Université Laval Québec Québec Canada
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175 CNRS Univ Montpellier CNRS EPHE IRD Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3 Montpellier France
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22
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Lundregan SL, Niskanen AK, Muff S, Holand H, Kvalnes T, Ringsby T, Husby A, Jensen H. Resistance to gapeworm parasite has both additive and dominant genetic components in house sparrows, with evolutionary consequences for ability to respond to parasite challenge. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:3812-3829. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Lundregan
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Alina K. Niskanen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland
| | - Stefanie Muff
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Mathematical Sciences Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Håkon Holand
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Thor‐Harald Ringsby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Arild Husby
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Evolutionary Biology Department of Ecology and Genetics Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
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23
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Consistent scaling of inbreeding depression in space and time in a house sparrow metapopulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:14584-14592. [PMID: 32513746 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909599117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Inbreeding may increase the extinction risk of small populations. Yet, studies using modern genomic tools to investigate inbreeding depression in nature have been limited to single populations, and little is known about the dynamics of inbreeding depression in subdivided populations over time. Natural populations often experience different environmental conditions and differ in demographic history and genetic composition, characteristics that can affect the severity of inbreeding depression. We utilized extensive long-term data on more than 3,100 individuals from eight islands in an insular house sparrow metapopulation to examine the generality of inbreeding effects. Using genomic estimates of realized inbreeding, we discovered that inbred individuals had lower survival probabilities and produced fewer recruiting offspring than noninbred individuals. Inbreeding depression, measured as the decline in fitness-related traits per unit inbreeding, did not vary appreciably among populations or with time. As a consequence, populations with more resident inbreeding (due to their demographic history) paid a higher total fitness cost, evidenced by a larger variance in fitness explained by inbreeding within these populations. Our results are in contrast to the idea that effects of inbreeding generally depend on ecological factors and genetic differences among populations, and expand the understanding of inbreeding depression in natural subdivided populations.
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24
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Hanson HE, Mathews NS, Hauber ME, Martin LB. The house sparrow in the service of basic and applied biology. eLife 2020; 9:e52803. [PMID: 32343224 PMCID: PMC7189751 DOI: 10.7554/elife.52803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
From the northernmost tip of Scandinavia to the southernmost corner of Patagonia, and across six continents, house sparrows (Passer domesticus) inhabit most human-modified habitats of the globe. With over 7,000 articles published, the species has become a workhorse for not only the study of self-urbanized wildlife, but also for understanding life history and body size evolution, sexual selection and many other biological phenomena. Traditionally, house sparrows were studied for their adaptations to local biotic and climatic conditions, but more recently, the species has come to serve as a focus for studies seeking to reveal the genomic, epigenetic and physiological underpinnings of success among invasive vertebrate species. Here, we review the natural history of house sparrows, highlight what the study of these birds has meant to bioscience generally, and describe the many resources available for future work on this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley E Hanson
- Global and Planetary Health, University of South FloridaTampaUnited States
| | - Noreen S Mathews
- Global and Planetary Health, University of South FloridaTampaUnited States
| | - Mark E Hauber
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and BehaviorUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUrbanaUnited States
| | - Lynn B Martin
- Global and Planetary Health, University of South FloridaTampaUnited States
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25
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Sendell-Price AT, Ruegg KC, Clegg SM. Rapid morphological divergence following a human-mediated introduction: the role of drift and directional selection. Heredity (Edinb) 2020; 124:535-549. [PMID: 32080374 PMCID: PMC7080774 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-020-0298-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that when populations are established by few individuals, random founder effects can facilitate rapid phenotypic divergence even in the absence of selective processes. However, empirical evidence from historically documented colonisations suggest that, in most cases, drift alone is not sufficient to explain the rate of morphological divergence. Here, using the human-mediated introduction of the silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) to French Polynesia, which represents a potentially extreme example of population founding, we reassess the potential for morphological shifts to arise via drift alone. Despite only 80 years of separation from their New Zealand ancestors, French Polynesian silvereyes displayed significant changes in body and bill size and shape, most of which could be accounted for by drift, without the need to invoke selection. However, signatures of selection at genes previously identified as candidates for bill size and body shape differences in a range of bird species, also suggests a role for selective processes in driving morphological shifts within this population. Twenty-four SNPs in our RAD-Seq dataset were also found to be strongly associated with phenotypic variation. Hence, even under population founding extremes, when it is difficult to reject drift as the sole mechanism based on rate tests of phenotypic shifts, the additional role of divergent natural selection in novel environments can be revealed at the level of the genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley T Sendell-Price
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
| | - Kristen C Ruegg
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sonya M Clegg
- Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, 4111, Australia
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26
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Hagen IJ, Lien S, Billing AM, Elgvin TO, Trier C, Niskanen AK, Tarka M, Slate J, Sætre G, Jensen H. A genome‐wide linkage map for the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) provides insights into the evolutionary history of the avian genome. Mol Ecol Resour 2020; 20:544-559. [DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ingerid J. Hagen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) Trondheim Norway
| | - Sigbjørn Lien
- Centre for Integrative Genetics Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences Faculty of Biosciences Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås Norway
| | - Anna M. Billing
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Tore O. Elgvin
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Department of Biology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Cassandra Trier
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Department of Biology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Alina K. Niskanen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland
| | - Maja Tarka
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Department of Biology Lund University Lund Sweden
| | - Jon Slate
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences University of Sheffield Western Bank Sheffield UK
| | - Glenn‐Peter Sætre
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis Department of Biology University of Oslo Oslo Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
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27
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Kuismin M, Saatoglu D, Niskanen AK, Jensen H, Sillanpää MJ. Genetic assignment of individuals to source populations using network estimation tools. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Markku Kuismin
- Research Unit of Mathematical Sciences University of Oulu Oulu Finland
- Biocenter Oulu University of Oulu Oulu Finland
| | - Dilan Saatoglu
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Alina K. Niskanen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
- Ecology and Genetics Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
| | - Mikko J. Sillanpää
- Research Unit of Mathematical Sciences University of Oulu Oulu Finland
- Biocenter Oulu University of Oulu Oulu Finland
- Infotech Oulu University of Oulu Oulu Finland
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28
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Sim Z, Coltman DW. Heritability of Horn Size in Thinhorn Sheep. Front Genet 2019; 10:959. [PMID: 31681413 PMCID: PMC6797622 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genetic basis of fitness-related trait variation has long been of great interest to evolutionary biologists. Secondary sexual characteristics, such as horns in bovids, are particularly intriguing since they can be potentially affected by both natural and sexual selection. Until recently, however, the study of fitness-related quantitative trait variation in wild species has been hampered by a lack of genomic resources, pedigree, and/or phenotype data. Recent innovations in genomic technologies have enabled wildlife researchers to perform marker-based relatedness estimation and acquire adequate loci density, enabling both the “top-down” approach of quantitative genetics and the “bottom-up” approach of association studies to describe the genetic basis of fitness-related traits. Here we combine a cross species application of the OvineHD BeadChip and horn measurements (horn length, base circumference, and volume) from harvested thinhorn sheep to examine the heritability and to perform a genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism association study of horn size in the species. Thinhorn sheep are mountain ungulates that reside in the mountainous regions of northwestern North America. Thinhorn sheep males grow massive horns that determine the social rank and mating success. We found horn length, base circumference, and volume to be moderately heritable and two loci to be suggestively associated with horn length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijian Sim
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.,Fish and Wildlife Forensic Unit, Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Branch, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - David W Coltman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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29
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Ko A, Nielsen R. Joint Estimation of Pedigrees and Effective Population Size Using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Genetics 2019; 212:855-868. [PMID: 31123041 PMCID: PMC6614905 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Pedigrees provide the genealogical relationships among individuals at a fine resolution and serve an important function in many areas of genetic studies. One such use of pedigree information is in the estimation of the short-term effective population size [Formula: see text], which is of great relevance in fields such as conservation genetics. Despite the usefulness of pedigrees, however, they are often an unknown parameter and must be inferred from genetic data. In this study, we present a Bayesian method to jointly estimate pedigrees and [Formula: see text] from genetic markers using Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Our method supports analysis of a large number of markers and individuals within a single generation with the use of a composite likelihood, which significantly increases computational efficiency. We show, on simulated data, that our method is able to jointly estimate relationships up to first cousins and [Formula: see text] with high accuracy. We also apply the method on a real dataset of house sparrows to reconstruct their previously unreported pedigree.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Ko
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720 California
| | - Rasmus Nielsen
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720 California
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Berkeley, 94720 California
- Museum of Natural History, University of Copenhagen, 1123 Denmark
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30
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Muff S, Niskanen AK, Saatoglu D, Keller LF, Jensen H. Animal models with group-specific additive genetic variances: extending genetic group models. Genet Sel Evol 2019; 51:7. [PMID: 30819110 PMCID: PMC6394059 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-019-0449-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The animal model is a key tool in quantitative genetics and has been used extensively to estimate fundamental parameters, such as additive genetic variance or heritability. An implicit assumption of animal models is that all founder individuals derive from a single population. This assumption is commonly violated, for instance in crossbred livestock or when a meta-population is split into genetically differentiated subpopulations. Ignoring that base populations are genetically heterogeneous and thus split into different 'genetic groups' may lead to biased parameter estimates, especially for additive genetic variance. To avoid such biases, genetic group animal models, which account for the presence of more than one genetic group, have been proposed. Unfortunately, the method to date is only computationally feasible when the breeding values of the groups are allowed to differ in their means, but not in their variances. RESULTS We present an extension of the animal model that permits estimation of group-specific additive genetic variances. This is achieved by employing group-specific relatedness matrices for the breeding value components to different genetic groups. We derive these matrices by decomposing the full relatedness matrix via the generalized Cholesky decomposition, and by scaling the respective matrix components for each group. We propose a computationally convenient approximation for the matrix component that encodes for the Mendelian sampling variance, and show that this approximation is not critical. In addition, we explain why segregation variances are often negligible when analyzing the complex polygenic traits that are frequently the focus of evolutionary ecologists and animal breeders. Simulations and an example from an insular meta-population of house sparrows in Norway with three distinct genetic groups illustrate that the method is successful in estimating group-specific additive genetic variances, and that segregation variances are indeed negligible in the empirical example. CONCLUSIONS Quantifying differences in additive genetic variance within and among populations is of major biological interest in ecology, evolution, and animal and plant breeding. The proposed method allows to estimate such differences for subpopulations that form a connected set of populations, and may thus also be useful to study temporal or spatial variation of additive genetic variances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Muff
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, Switzerland. .,Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Hirschengraben 84, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Alina K Niskanen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, Oulu, Finland
| | - Dilan Saatoglu
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lukas F Keller
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, Switzerland.,Zoological Museum, University of Zurich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, Trondheim, Norway
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31
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Andrew SC, Taylor MP, Lundregan S, Lien S, Jensen H, Griffith SC. Signs of adaptation to trace metal contamination in a common urban bird. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 650:679-686. [PMID: 30212697 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Metals and metalloids at elevated concentrations can be toxic to both humans and wildlife. In particular, lead exposure can act as a stressor to wildlife and cause negative effects on fitness. Any ability to adapt to stress caused by the negative effects of trace metal exposure would be beneficial for species living in contaminated environments. However, mechanisms for responding adaptively to metal contamination are not fully understood in free-living organisms. The Australian populations of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) provides an excellent opportunity to study potential adaptation to environmental lead contamination because they have a commensal relationship with humans and are distributed broadly across Australian settlements including many long-term mining and smelting communities. To examine the potential for an evolutionary response to long-term lead exposure, we collected genomic SNP data using the house sparrow 200 K SNP array, from 11 localities across the Australian distribution including two mining sites (Broken Hill and Mount Isa, which are two genetically independent populations) that have well-established elevated levels of lead contamination as well as trace metals and metalloids. We contrast these known contaminated locations to other lesser-contaminated environments. Using an ecological association genome scan method to identify genomic differentiation associated with estimates of lead contamination we identified 60 outlier loci across three tests. A total of 39 genes were found to be physically linked (within 20 kbps) of all outliers in the house sparrow reference genome. The linked candidate genes included 12 genes relevant to lead exposure, such as two metal transporters that can transport metals including lead and zinc across cell membranes. These candidate genes provide targets for follow up experiments comparing resilience to lead exposure between populations exposed to varied levels of lead contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C Andrew
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Mark Patrick Taylor
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Sarah Lundregan
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sigbjørn Lien
- Centre for Integrative Genetics (CIGENE), Department of Animal and Aquacultural Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, NO-1432 Ås, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Simon C Griffith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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32
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Araya‐Ajoy YG, Ranke PS, Kvalnes T, Rønning B, Holand H, Myhre AM, Pärn H, Jensen H, Ringsby TH, Sæther B, Wright J. Characterizing morphological (co)variation using structural equation models: Body size, allometric relationships and evolvability in a house sparrow metapopulation. Evolution 2019; 73:452-466. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yimen G. Araya‐Ajoy
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Peter Sjolte Ranke
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Bernt Rønning
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Håkon Holand
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Ane Marlene Myhre
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Henrik Pärn
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Bernt‐Erik Sæther
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
| | - Jonathan Wright
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD)Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) N‐7491 Trondheim Norway
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33
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Andrew SC, Jensen H, Hagen IJ, Lundregan S, Griffith SC. Signatures of genetic adaptation to extremely varied Australian environments in introduced European house sparrows. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:4542-4555. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C. Andrew
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics; Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim Norway
| | - Ingerid J. Hagen
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics; Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim Norway
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research; Trondheim Norway
| | - Sarah Lundregan
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics; Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim Norway
| | - Simon C. Griffith
- Department of Biological Sciences; Macquarie University; Sydney New South Wales Australia
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