1
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de Flamingh A, Gnoske TP, Kerbis Peterhans JC, Simeonovski VA, Gitahi N, Mwebi O, Agwanda BR, Catchen JM, Roca AL, Malhi RS. Compacted hair in broken teeth reveals dietary prey of historic lions. Curr Biol 2024:S0960-9822(24)01240-5. [PMID: 39395415 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 09/12/2024] [Indexed: 10/14/2024]
Abstract
With recent advances, nuclear genome data for phylogenomic analyses can now be sequenced from minuscule quantities of DNA1 and from specimens that are more than a million years old.2 DNA analysis from hair is a well-established approach3 widely used in forensic science4 and wildlife conservation.5 Hair samples can be effectively decontaminated6 and can be used to identify the mammalian species from which the hair was shed.7,8 We aimed to use advances optimized for degraded DNA to systematically identify dietary prey species from hair compacted in the teeth of two Tsavo lions that lived during the 1890s in Kenya (see description of samples in the STAR Methods and Patterson9 and Kerbis Peterhans and Gnoske10 for background on the Tsavo "man-eaters"). Analysis of hair DNA identified giraffe, human, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeest, and zebra as prey and also identified hair that originated from lion. DNA preservation allowed for analyses of complete mitogenome profiles of zebra, giraffe, and lion. Giraffe mitogenomes are phylogeographically partitioned, and we found that the lions ate at least two individuals that belong to a subspecies of Masai giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi tippelskirchi) typically found in southeast Kenya. The lion mitogenome from a hair sample was identical to the Tsavo lion endogenous mitogenome and most closely matched other East African lions from Kenya and Tanzania. Our approach enables a better understanding of the hunting behaviors, diets, and ecology of historical individuals, populations, and species and holds promise for extinct populations and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida de Flamingh
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
| | - Thomas P Gnoske
- Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA
| | - Julian C Kerbis Peterhans
- Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA; College of Arts & Sciences, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL 60605-1394, USA
| | | | - Nduhiu Gitahi
- Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Ogeto Mwebi
- Department of Osteology, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Julian M Catchen
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Alfred L Roca
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Animal Sciences, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Ripan S Malhi
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; Department of Anthropology, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
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2
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Hogg CJ, Edwards RJ, Farquharson KA, Silver LW, Brandies P, Peel E, Escalona M, Jaya FR, Thavornkanlapachai R, Batley K, Bradford TM, Chang JK, Chen Z, Deshpande N, Dziminski M, Ewart KM, Griffith OW, Marin Gual L, Moon KL, Travouillon KJ, Waters P, Whittington CM, Wilkins MR, Helgen KM, Lo N, Ho SYW, Ruiz Herrera A, Paltridge R, Marshall Graves JA, Renfree M, Shapiro B, Ottewell K, Belov K. Extant and extinct bilby genomes combined with Indigenous knowledge improve conservation of a unique Australian marsupial. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1311-1326. [PMID: 38945974 PMCID: PMC11239497 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02436-2] [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: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Ninu (greater bilby, Macrotis lagotis) are desert-dwelling, culturally and ecologically important marsupials. In collaboration with Indigenous rangers and conservation managers, we generated the Ninu chromosome-level genome assembly (3.66 Gbp) and genome sequences for the extinct Yallara (lesser bilby, Macrotis leucura). We developed and tested a scat single-nucleotide polymorphism panel to inform current and future conservation actions, undertake ecological assessments and improve our understanding of Ninu genetic diversity in managed and wild populations. We also assessed the beneficial impact of translocations in the metapopulation (N = 363 Ninu). Resequenced genomes (temperate Ninu, 6; semi-arid Ninu, 6; and Yallara, 4) revealed two major population crashes during global cooling events for both species and differences in Ninu genes involved in anatomical and metabolic pathways. Despite their 45-year captive history, Ninu have fewer long runs of homozygosity than other larger mammals, which may be attributable to their boom-bust life history. Here we investigated the unique Ninu biology using 12 tissue transcriptomes revealing expression of all 115 conserved eutherian chorioallantoic placentation genes in the uterus, an XY1Y2 sex chromosome system and olfactory receptor gene expansions. Together, we demonstrate the holistic value of genomics in improving key conservation actions, understanding unique biological traits and developing tools for Indigenous rangers to monitor remote wild populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn J Hogg
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Richard J Edwards
- Minderoo OceanOmics Centre at UWA, Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Katherine A Farquharson
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Luke W Silver
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Parice Brandies
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Emma Peel
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Merly Escalona
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Frederick R Jaya
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rujiporn Thavornkanlapachai
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kimberley Batley
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tessa M Bradford
- Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - J King Chang
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Nandan Deshpande
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics and School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Martin Dziminski
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Kyle M Ewart
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Oliver W Griffith
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Laia Marin Gual
- Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Genome Integrity and Instability Group, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Katherine L Moon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kenny J Travouillon
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Paul Waters
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Camilla M Whittington
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Marc R Wilkins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics and School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, UNSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kristofer M Helgen
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nathan Lo
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Simon Y W Ho
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Aurora Ruiz Herrera
- Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Genome Integrity and Instability Group, Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Rachel Paltridge
- Indigenous Desert Alliance, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
| | | | - Marilyn Renfree
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Beth Shapiro
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kym Ottewell
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Katherine Belov
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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3
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Carroll RA, Rice ES, Murphy WJ, Lyons LA, Thibaud-Nissen F, Coghill LM, Swanson WF, Terio KA, Boyd T, Warren WC. A chromosome-scale fishing cat reference genome for the evaluation of potential germline risk variants. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8073. [PMID: 38580653 PMCID: PMC10997796 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56003-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, faces a population decline, increasing the importance of maintaining healthy zoo populations. Unfortunately, zoo-managed individuals currently face a high prevalence of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), a form of bladder cancer. To investigate the genetics of inherited diseases among captive fishing cats, we present a chromosome-scale assembly, generate the pedigree of the zoo-managed population, reaffirm the close genetic relationship with the Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), and identify 7.4 million single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and 23,432 structural variants (SVs) from whole genome sequencing (WGS) data of healthy and TCC cats. Only BRCA2 was found to have a high recurrent number of missense mutations in fishing cats diagnosed with TCC when compared to inherited human cancer risk variants. These new fishing cat genomic resources will aid conservation efforts to improve their genetic fitness and enhance the comparative study of feline genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A Carroll
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Edward S Rice
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - William J Murphy
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, 77843-4458, USA
| | - Leslie A Lyons
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Francoise Thibaud-Nissen
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lyndon M Coghill
- Bioinformatics and Analytics Core, University of Missouri, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - William F Swanson
- Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH, 45220, USA
| | - Karen A Terio
- Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, 3300 Golf Rd, Brookfield, IL, 60513, USA
| | - Tyler Boyd
- Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, 2000 Remington Pl., Oklahoma, OK, 73111, USA
| | - Wesley C Warren
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
- Department of Surgery, Bond Life Sciences Center, Institute of Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, 1201 Rollins St., Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
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4
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Armstrong EE, Bissell KL, Fatima HS, Heikkinen MA, Jessup A, Junaid MO, Lee DH, Lieb EC, Liem JT, Martin EM, Moreno M, Otgonbayar K, Romans BW, Royar K, Adler MB, Needle DB, Harkess A, Kelley JL, Mooney JA, Mychajliw AM. Chromosome-level assembly of the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) confirms the basal loss of PRDM9 in Canidae. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae034. [PMID: 38366575 PMCID: PMC10989890 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae034] [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: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Reference genome assemblies have been created from multiple lineages within the Canidae family; however, despite its phylogenetic relevance as a basal genus within the clade, there is currently no reference genome for the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). Here, we present a chromosome-level assembly for the gray fox (U. cinereoargenteus), which represents the most contiguous, non-domestic canid reference genome available to date, with 90% of the genome contained in just 34 scaffolds and a contig N50 and scaffold N50 of 59.4 and 72.9 Megabases, respectively. Repeat analyses identified an increased number of simple repeats relative to other canids. Based on mitochondrial DNA, our Vermont sample clusters with other gray fox samples from the northeastern United States and contains slightly lower levels of heterozygosity than gray foxes on the west coast of California. This new assembly lays the groundwork for future studies to describe past and present population dynamics, including the delineation of evolutionarily significant units of management relevance. Importantly, the phylogenetic position of Urocyon allows us to verify the loss of PRDM9 functionality in the basal canid lineage, confirming that pseudogenization occurred at least 10 million years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie E Armstrong
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Ky L Bissell
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - H Sophia Fatima
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Maya A Heikkinen
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Anika Jessup
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Maryam O Junaid
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Dong H Lee
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Emily C Lieb
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Josef T Liem
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Estelle M Martin
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Mauricio Moreno
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | | | - Betsy W Romans
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
| | - Kim Royar
- Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Montpelier, VT 05620, USA
| | - Mary Beth Adler
- Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Montpelier, VT 05620, USA
| | - David B Needle
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Alex Harkess
- HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Huntsville, AL 35806, USA
| | - Joanna L Kelley
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Jazlyn A Mooney
- Department of Quantitative and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA
| | - Alexis M Mychajliw
- Department of Biology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
- Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
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5
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de Flamingh A, Gnoske TP, Rivera-Colón AG, Simeonovski VA, Kerbis Peterhans JC, Yamaguchi N, Witt KE, Catchen J, Roca AL, Malhi RS. Genomic analysis supports Cape Lion population connectivity prior to colonial eradication and extinction. J Hered 2024; 115:155-165. [PMID: 38150491 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Cape lions (Panthera leo melanochaitus) formerly ranged throughout the grassland plains of the "Cape Flats" in what is today known as the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Cape lions were likely eradicated because of overhunting and habitat loss after European colonization. European naturalists originally described Cape lions as "black-maned lions" and claimed that they were phenotypically distinct. However, other depictions and historical descriptions of lions from the Cape report mixed or light coloration and without black or extensively developed manes. These findings suggest that, rather than forming a distinct population, Cape lions may have had phenotypic and genotypic variation similar to other African lions. Here we investigate Cape lion genome characteristics, population dynamics, and genetic distinctiveness prior to their extinction. We generated genomic data from 2 historic Cape lions to compare to 118 existing high-coverage mitogenomes, and low-coverage nuclear genomes of 53 lions from 13 African countries. We show that, before their eradication, lions from the Cape Flats had diverse mitogenomes and nuclear genomes that clustered with lions from both southern and eastern Africa. Cape lions had high genome-wide heterozygosity and low inbreeding coefficients, indicating that populations in the Cape Flats went extinct so rapidly that genomic effects associated with long-term small population size and isolation were not detectable. Our findings do not support the characterization of Cape lions as phylogeographically distinct, as originally put forth by some European naturalists, and illustrates how alternative knowledge systems, for example, Indigenous perspectives, could potentially further inform interpretations of species histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida de Flamingh
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Thomas P Gnoske
- Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, IL, United States
| | | | | | - Julian C Kerbis Peterhans
- Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Chicago, IL, United States
- College of Arts & Sciences, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Nobuyuki Yamaguchi
- Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, University of Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Kelsey E Witt
- Department of Genetics & Biochemistry, Center for Human Genetics, Clemson, SC, United States
| | - Julian Catchen
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Alfred L Roca
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Animal Sciences, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
| | - Ripan Singh Malhi
- Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, United States
- Department of Anthropology, UIUC, Urbana, IL, United States
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6
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Schmidt TL, Thia JA, Hoffmann AA. How Can Genomics Help or Hinder Wildlife Conservation? Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2024; 12:45-68. [PMID: 37788416 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-021022-051810] [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] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Genomic data are becoming increasingly affordable and easy to collect, and new tools for their analysis are appearing rapidly. Conservation biologists are interested in using this information to assist in management and planning but are typically limited financially and by the lack of genomic resources available for non-model taxa. It is therefore important to be aware of the pitfalls as well as the benefits of applying genomic approaches. Here, we highlight recent methods aimed at standardizing population assessments of genetic variation, inbreeding, and forms of genetic load and methods that help identify past and ongoing patterns of genetic interchange between populations, including those subjected to recent disturbance. We emphasize challenges in applying some of these methods and the need for adequate bioinformatic support. We also consider the promises and challenges of applying genomic approaches to understand adaptive changes in natural populations to predict their future adaptive capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas L Schmidt
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
| | - Joshua A Thia
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
| | - Ary A Hoffmann
- School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
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7
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Barazandeh M, Kriti D, Fickel J, Nislow C. The Addis Ababa Lions: Whole-Genome Sequencing of a Rare and Precious Population. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae021. [PMID: 38302110 PMCID: PMC10871700 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae021] [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: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Lions are widely known as charismatic predators that once roamed across the globe, but their populations have been greatly affected by environmental factors and human activities over the last 150 yr. Of particular interest is the Addis Ababa lion population, which has been maintained in captivity at around 20 individuals for over 75 yr, while many wild African lion populations have become extinct. In order to understand the molecular features of this unique population, we conducted a whole-genome sequencing study on 15 Addis Ababa lions and detected 4.5 million distinct genomic variants compared with the reference African lion genome. Using functional annotation, we identified several genes with mutations that potentially impact various traits such as mane color, body size, reproduction, gastrointestinal functions, cardiovascular processes, and sensory perception. These findings offer valuable insights into the genetics of this threatened lion population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjan Barazandeh
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Divya Kriti
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jörns Fickel
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Research Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Berlin, Germany
| | - Corey Nislow
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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8
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Schiebelhut LM, Guillaume AS, Kuhn A, Schweizer RM, Armstrong EE, Beaumont MA, Byrne M, Cosart T, Hand BK, Howard L, Mussmann SM, Narum SR, Rasteiro R, Rivera-Colón AG, Saarman N, Sethuraman A, Taylor HR, Thomas GWC, Wellenreuther M, Luikart G. Genomics and conservation: Guidance from training to analyses and applications. Mol Ecol Resour 2024; 24:e13893. [PMID: 37966259 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13893] [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: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Environmental change is intensifying the biodiversity crisis and threatening species across the tree of life. Conservation genomics can help inform conservation actions and slow biodiversity loss. However, more training, appropriate use of novel genomic methods and communication with managers are needed. Here, we review practical guidance to improve applied conservation genomics. We share insights aimed at ensuring effectiveness of conservation actions around three themes: (1) improving pedagogy and training in conservation genomics including for online global audiences, (2) conducting rigorous population genomic analyses properly considering theory, marker types and data interpretation and (3) facilitating communication and collaboration between managers and researchers. We aim to update students and professionals and expand their conservation toolkit with genomic principles and recent approaches for conserving and managing biodiversity. The biodiversity crisis is a global problem and, as such, requires international involvement, training, collaboration and frequent reviews of the literature and workshops as we do here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Schiebelhut
- Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, California, USA
| | - Annie S Guillaume
- Geospatial Molecular Epidemiology group (GEOME), Laboratory for Biological Geochemistry (LGB), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Arianna Kuhn
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
- Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, Virginia, USA
| | - Rena M Schweizer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | | | - Mark A Beaumont
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Margaret Byrne
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Ted Cosart
- Flathead Lake Biology Station, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Brian K Hand
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, Montana, USA
| | - Leif Howard
- Flathead Lake Biology Station, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Steven M Mussmann
- Southwestern Native Aquatic Resources and Recovery Center, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Dexter, New Mexico, USA
| | - Shawn R Narum
- Hagerman Genetics Lab, University of Idaho, Hagerman, Idaho, USA
| | - Rita Rasteiro
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Angel G Rivera-Colón
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Norah Saarman
- Department of Biology and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Arun Sethuraman
- Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Helen R Taylor
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
| | - Gregg W C Thomas
- Informatics Group, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Maren Wellenreuther
- Plant and Food Research, Nelson, New Zealand
- University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Gordon Luikart
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
- Flathead Lake Biology Station, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
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9
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Broyles GG, Myers BM, Friedman NR, Gawin DF, Mohd-Taib FS, Sahlan PGM, Seneviratne SS, de Silva NCG, Lekamlage TTM, Hund AK, Scordato ESC. Evolutionarily labile dispersal behavior and discontinuous habitats enhance population differentiation in island versus continentally distributed swallows. Evolution 2023; 77:2656-2671. [PMID: 37801637 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad179] [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: 03/24/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
The causes of population divergence in vagile groups remain a paradox in evolutionary biology: dispersive species should be able to colonize new areas, a prerequisite for allopatric speciation, but dispersal also facilitates gene flow, which erodes population differentiation. Strong dispersal ability has been suggested to enhance divergence in patchy habitats and inhibit divergence in continuous landscapes, but empirical support for this hypothesis is lacking. Here we compared patterns of population divergence in a dispersive clade of swallows distributed across both patchy and continuous habitats. The Pacific Swallow (Hirundo tahitica) has an insular distribution throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific, while its sister species, the Welcome Swallow (H. neoxena), has a continental distribution in Australia. We used whole-genome data to demonstrate strong genetic structure and limited introgression among insular populations, but not among continental populations. Demographic models show that historic changes in habitat connectivity have contributed to population structure within the clade. Swallows appear to exhibit evolutionarily labile dispersal behavior in which they reduce dispersal propensity after island colonization despite retaining strong flight ability. Our data support the hypothesis that fragmented habitats enhance population differentiation in vagile groups, and suggest that labile dispersal behavior is a key mechanism underlying this pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant G Broyles
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, United States
| | - Brian M Myers
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, United States
- Department of Biology, Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR, United States
| | - Nicholas R Friedman
- Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan
- Centre for Taxonomy and Morphology, Museum of Nature Hamburg, Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dency F Gawin
- Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | - Farah S Mohd-Taib
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Penigran G M Sahlan
- Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Sampath S Seneviratne
- Avian Sciences and Conservation, Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, The University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
| | - N Chamalka G de Silva
- Avian Sciences and Conservation, Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, The University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States
| | - Thilini T M Lekamlage
- Avian Sciences and Conservation, Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, The University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Amanda K Hund
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, The University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States
- Department of Biology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, United States
| | - Elizabeth S C Scordato
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, United States
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10
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Yuan J, Wang G, Zhao L, Kitchener AC, Sun T, Chen W, Huang C, Wang C, Xu X, Wang J, Lu H, Xu L, Jiangzuo Q, Murphy WJ, Wu D, Li G. How genomic insights into the evolutionary history of clouded leopards inform their conservation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh9143. [PMID: 37801506 PMCID: PMC10558132 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh9143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Clouded leopards (Neofelis spp.), a morphologically and ecologically distinct lineage of big cats, are severely threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, targeted hunting, and other human activities. The long-held poor understanding of their genetics and evolution has undermined the effectiveness of conservation actions. Here, we report a comprehensive investigation of the whole genomes, population genetics, and adaptive evolution of Neofelis. Our results indicate the genus Neofelis arose during the Pleistocene, coinciding with glacial-induced climate changes to the distributions of savannas and rainforests, and signatures of natural selection associated with genes functioning in tooth, pigmentation, and tail development, associated with clouded leopards' unique adaptations. Our study highlights high-altitude adaptation as the main factor driving nontaxonomic population differentiation in Neofelis nebulosa. Population declines and inbreeding have led to reduced genetic diversity and the accumulation of deleterious variation that likely affect reproduction of clouded leopards, highlighting the urgent need for effective conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqing Yuan
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Guiqiang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Le Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
- QinLing-Bashan Mountains Bioresources Comprehensive Development C. I. C., School of Bioscience and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, China
| | - Andrew C. Kitchener
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
- School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH9 3PX, UK
| | - Ting Sun
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Wu Chen
- Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chen Huang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Chen Wang
- Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiao Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jinhong Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Huimeng Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Lulu Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
| | - Qigao Jiangzuo
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - William J. Murphy
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Dongdong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
| | - Gang Li
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China
- Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China
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11
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Mochales-Riaño G, Fontsere C, de Manuel M, Talavera A, Burriel-Carranza B, Tejero-Cicuéndez H, AlGethami RHM, Shobrak M, Marques-Bonet T, Carranza S. Genomics reveals introgression and purging of deleterious mutations in the Arabian leopard ( Panthera pardus nimr). iScience 2023; 26:107481. [PMID: 37601769 PMCID: PMC10432787 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In endangered species, low-genetic variation and inbreeding result from recent population declines. Genetic screenings in endangered populations help to assess their vulnerability to extinction and to create informed management actions toward their conservation efforts. The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a highly generalist predator with currently eight different subspecies. Yet, genomic data are still lacking for the Critically Endangered Arabian leopard (P. p. nimr). Here, we sequenced the whole genome of two Arabian leopards and assembled the most complete genomic dataset for leopards to date. Our phylogenomic analyses show that leopards are divided into two deeply divergent clades: the African and the Asian. Conservation genomic analyses indicate a prolonged population decline, which has led to an increase in inbreeding and runs of homozygosity, with consequent purging of deleterious mutations in both Arabian individuals. Our study represents the first attempt to genetically inform captive breeding programmes for this Critically Endangered subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudia Fontsere
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, The Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5A, 1352 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marc de Manuel
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adrián Talavera
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Héctor Tejero-Cicuéndez
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Raed Hamoud M. AlGethami
- National Center for Wildlife, Prince Saud Al-Faisal for Wildlife Research, P. O Box 1086, Taif, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammed Shobrak
- National Center for Wildlife, Prince Saud Al-Faisal for Wildlife Research, P. O Box 1086, Taif, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tomas Marques-Bonet
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
- CNAG-CRG, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Catalan Institution of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Carranza
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Flack N, Drown M, Walls C, Pratte J, McLain A, Faulk C. Chromosome-level, nanopore-only genome and allele-specific DNA methylation of Pallas's cat, Otocolobus manul. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqad033. [PMID: 37025970 PMCID: PMC10071556 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqad033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Pallas's cat, or the manul cat (Otocolobus manul), is a small felid native to the grasslands and steppes of central Asia. Population strongholds in Mongolia and China face growing challenges from climate change, habitat fragmentation, poaching, and other sources. These threats, combined with O. manul's zoo collection popularity and value in evolutionary biology, necessitate improvement of species genomic resources. We used standalone nanopore sequencing to assemble a 2.5 Gb, 61-contig nuclear assembly and 17097 bp mitogenome for O. manul. The primary nuclear assembly had 56× sequencing coverage, a contig N50 of 118 Mb, and a 94.7% BUSCO completeness score for Carnivora-specific genes. High genome collinearity within Felidae permitted alignment-based scaffolding onto the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) reference genome. Manul contigs spanned all 19 felid chromosomes with an inferred total gap length of less than 400 kilobases. Modified basecalling and variant phasing produced an alternate pseudohaplotype assembly and allele-specific DNA methylation calls; 61 differentially methylated regions were identified between haplotypes. Nearest features included classical imprinted genes, non-coding RNAs, and putative novel imprinted loci. The assembled mitogenome successfully resolved existing discordance between Felinae nuclear and mtDNA phylogenies. All assembly drafts were generated from 158 Gb of sequence using seven minION flow cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Flack
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Melissa Drown
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Carrie Walls
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Jay Pratte
- Bloomington Parks and Recreation, Miller Park Zoo, Bloomington, IL 61701, USA
| | - Adam McLain
- Department of Biology and Chemistry, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY 13502, USA
| | - Christopher Faulk
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
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13
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Bursell MG, Dikow RB, Figueiró HV, Dudchenko O, Flanagan JP, Aiden EL, Goossens B, Nathan SK, Johnson WE, Koepfli KP, Frandsen PB. Whole genome analysis of clouded leopard species reveals an ancient divergence and distinct demographic histories. iScience 2022; 25:105647. [PMID: 36590460 PMCID: PMC9801239 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Similar to other apex predator species, populations of mainland (Neofelis nebulosa) and Sunda (Neofelis diardi) clouded leopards are declining. Understanding their patterns of genetic variation can provide critical insights on past genetic erosion and a baseline for understanding their long-term conservation needs. As a step toward this goal, we present draft genome assemblies for the two clouded leopard species to quantify their phylogenetic divergence, genome-wide diversity, and historical population trends. We estimate that the two species diverged 5.1 Mya, much earlier than previous estimates of 1.41 Mya and 2.86 Mya, suggesting they separated when Sundaland was becoming increasingly isolated from mainland Southeast Asia. The Sunda clouded leopard displays a distinct and reduced effective population size trajectory, consistent with a lower genome-wide heterozygosity and SNP density, relative to the mainland clouded leopard. Our results provide new insights into the evolutionary history and genetic health of this unique lineage of felids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madeline G. Bursell
- Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
- Data Science Lab, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Rebecca B. Dikow
- Data Science Lab, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - Henrique V. Figueiró
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Olga Dudchenko
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Erez Lieberman Aiden
- The Center for Genome Architecture, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
- UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
- Departments of Computer Science and Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University,Houston, TX, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Benoit Goossens
- Sabah Wildlife Department, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
- Organisms and Environment Division, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff, UK
- Danau Girang Field Centre, c/o Sabah Wildlife Department, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | | | - Warren E. Johnson
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- The Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Museum Support Center MRC-534, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD, USA
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, USA
- Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Klaus-Peter Koepfli
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
- Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, George Mason University, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA
| | - Paul B. Frandsen
- Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA
- Data Science Lab, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
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14
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Karimi K, Do DN, Wang J, Easley J, Borzouie S, Sargolzaei M, Plastow G, Wang Z, Miar Y. A chromosome-level genome assembly reveals genomic characteristics of the American mink (Neogale vison). Commun Biol 2022; 5:1381. [PMID: 36526733 PMCID: PMC9757699 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04341-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Availability of a contiguous chromosome-level genome assembly is the foundational step to develop genome-based studies in American mink (Neogale vison). The main objective of this study was to provide a high quality chromosome-level genome assembly for American mink. An initial draft of the genome assembly was generated using 2,884,047 PacBio long reads. Integration of Hi-C data into the initial draft led to an assembly with 183 scaffolds and scaffold N50 of 220 Mb. This gap-free genome assembly of American mink (ASM_NN_V1) had a length of 2.68 Gb in which about 98.6% of the whole genome was covered by 15 chromosomes. In total, 25,377 genes were predicted across the American mink genome using the NCBI Eukaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline. In addition, gene orthology, demographic history, synteny blocks, and phylogenetic relationships were studied in connection with the genomes of other related Carnivora. Furthermore, population-based statistics of 100 sequenced mink were presented using the newly assembled genome. Remarkable improvements were observed in genome contiguity, the number of scaffolds, and annotation compared to the first draft of mink genome assembly (NNQGG.v01). This high-quality genome assembly will support the development of efficient breeding strategies as well as conservation programs for American mink.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim Karimi
- grid.55602.340000 0004 1936 8200Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS Canada
| | - Duy Ngoc Do
- grid.55602.340000 0004 1936 8200Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS Canada
| | - Jingy Wang
- grid.55602.340000 0004 1936 8200Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS Canada
| | - John Easley
- Joint Mink Research Committee, Fur Commission USA, Preston, ID USA ,Mink Veterinary Consulting and Research Service, Plymouth, WI USA
| | - Shima Borzouie
- grid.55602.340000 0004 1936 8200Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS Canada
| | - Mehdi Sargolzaei
- grid.34429.380000 0004 1936 8198Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Canada ,Select Sires Inc., Plain City, OH USA
| | - Graham Plastow
- grid.17089.370000 0001 2190 316XLivestock Gentec, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada
| | - Zhiquan Wang
- grid.17089.370000 0001 2190 316XLivestock Gentec, Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB Canada
| | - Younes Miar
- grid.55602.340000 0004 1936 8200Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS Canada
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15
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Armstrong EE, Campana MG, Solari KA, Morgan SR, Ryder OA, Naude VN, Samelius G, Sharma K, Hadly EA, Petrov DA. Genome report: chromosome-level draft assemblies of the snow leopard, African leopard, and tiger (Panthera uncia, Panthera pardus pardus, and Panthera tigris). G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2022; 12:jkac277. [PMID: 36250809 PMCID: PMC9713438 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkac277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
The big cats (genus Panthera) represent some of the most popular and charismatic species on the planet. Although some reference genomes are available for this clade, few are at the chromosome level, inhibiting high-resolution genomic studies. We assembled genomes from 3 members of the genus, the tiger (Panthera tigris), the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), and the African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), at chromosome or near-chromosome level. We used a combination of short- and long-read technologies, as well as proximity ligation data from Hi-C technology, to achieve high continuity and contiguity for each individual. We hope that these genomes will aid in further evolutionary and conservation research of this iconic group of mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie E Armstrong
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Michael G Campana
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute, Washington, DC 20008, USA
| | | | - Simon R Morgan
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Wildlife ACT Fund Trust, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
| | - Oliver A Ryder
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Beckman Center for Conservation Research, San Diego, CA 92027, USA
| | - Vincent N Naude
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa
| | | | - Koustubh Sharma
- Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
- Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore 570 017, India
| | | | - Dmitri A Petrov
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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16
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Armstrong EE, Perry BW, Huang Y, Garimella KV, Jansen HT, Robbins CT, Tucker NR, Kelley JL. A beary good genome: Haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level assembly of the brown bear (Ursus arctos). Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6656105. [PMID: 35929770 PMCID: PMC9447482 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is the second largest and most widespread extant terrestrial carnivore on Earth and has recently emerged as a medical model for human metabolic diseases. Here, we report a fully phased chromosome-level assembly of a male North American brown bear built by combining Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) HiFi data and publicly available Hi-C data. The final genome size is 2.47 Gigabases (Gb) with a scaffold and contig N50 length of 70.08 and 43.94 Megabases (Mb), respectively. Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Ortholog (BUSCO) analysis revealed that 94.5% of single copy orthologs from Mammalia were present in the genome (the highest of any ursid genome to date). Repetitive elements accounted for 44.48% of the genome and a total of 20,480 protein coding genes were identified. Based on whole genome alignment to the polar bear, the brown bear is highly syntenic with the polar bear, and our phylogenetic analysis of 7,246 single-copy orthologs supports the currently proposed species tree for Ursidae. This highly contiguous genome assembly will support future research on both the evolutionary history of the bear family and the physiological mechanisms behind hibernation, the latter of which has broad medical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellie E Armstrong
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Blair W Perry
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Yongqing Huang
- Data Sciences Platform, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kiran V Garimella
- Data Sciences Platform, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Heiko T Jansen
- Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Charles T Robbins
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.,School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Nathan R Tucker
- Masonic Medical Research Institute, 2150 Bleecker St, Utica, NY, 13501, USA.,Cardiovascular Disease Initiative, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Joanna L Kelley
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
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17
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Lan T, Fang D, Li H, Sahu SK, Wang Q, Yuan H, Zhu Y, Yang Z, Zhang L, Yang S, Lu H, Han L, Zhang S, Yu J, Mahmmod YS, Xu Y, Hua Y, He F, Yuan Z, Liu H. Chromosome-Scale Genome of Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata) Shows Genomic Signatures of Its Biological Characteristics and Evolution. Front Genet 2022; 12:819493. [PMID: 35126472 PMCID: PMC8815822 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.819493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) is a small carnivore with distinct biological characteristics, that likes an omnivorous diet and also serves as a vector of pathogens. Although this species is not an endangered animal, its population is reportedly declining. Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003, the public has been particularly concerned about this species. Here, we present the first genome of the P. larvata, comprising 22 chromosomes assembled using single-tube long fragment read (stLFR) and Hi-C technologies. The genome length is 2.41 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 105.6 Mb. We identified the 107.13 Mb X chromosome and one 1.34 Mb Y-linked scaffold and validated them by resequencing 45 P. larvata individuals. We predicted 18,340 protein-coding genes, among which 18,333 genes were functionally annotated. Interestingly, several biological pathways related to immune defenses were found to be significantly expanded. Also, more than 40% of the enriched pathways on the positively selected genes (PSGs) were identified to be closely related to immunity and survival. These enriched gene families were inferred to be essential for the P. larvata for defense against the pathogens. However, we did not find a direct genomic basis for its adaptation to omnivorous diet despite multiple attempts of comparative genomic analysis. In addition, we evaluated the susceptibility of the P. larvata to the SARS-CoV-2 by screening the RNA expression of the ACE2 and TMPRSS2/TMPRSS4 genes in 16 organs. Finally, we explored the genome-wide heterozygosity and compared it with other animals to evaluate the population status of this species. Taken together, this chromosome-scale genome of the P. larvata provides a necessary resource and insights for understanding the genetic basis of its biological characteristics, evolution, and disease transmission control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianming Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Dongming Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Haimeng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Sunil Kumar Sahu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Qing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Yuan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yixin Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zipeng Yang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
| | - Le Zhang
- College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Shangchen Yang
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Haorong Lu
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lei Han
- College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Shaofang Zhang
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jieyao Yu
- China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yasser S. Mahmmod
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Higher Colleges of Technology, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Yanchun Xu
- College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
| | - Yan Hua
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fengping He
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China
- *Correspondence: Huan Liu, ; Ziguo Yuan, ; Fengping He,
| | - Ziguo Yuan
- College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Huan Liu, ; Ziguo Yuan, ; Fengping He,
| | - Huan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Genome Read and Write, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Huan Liu, ; Ziguo Yuan, ; Fengping He,
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18
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Kardos M, Armstrong EE, Fitzpatrick SW, Hauser S, Hedrick PW, Miller JM, Tallmon DA, Funk WC. The crucial role of genome-wide genetic variation in conservation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2104642118. [PMID: 34772759 PMCID: PMC8640931 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2104642118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The unprecedented rate of extinction calls for efficient use of genetics to help conserve biodiversity. Several recent genomic and simulation-based studies have argued that the field of conservation biology has placed too much focus on conserving genome-wide genetic variation, and that the field should instead focus on managing the subset of functional genetic variation that is thought to affect fitness. Here, we critically evaluate the feasibility and likely benefits of this approach in conservation. We find that population genetics theory and empirical results show that conserving genome-wide genetic variation is generally the best approach to prevent inbreeding depression and loss of adaptive potential from driving populations toward extinction. Focusing conservation efforts on presumably functional genetic variation will only be feasible occasionally, often misleading, and counterproductive when prioritized over genome-wide genetic variation. Given the increasing rate of habitat loss and other environmental changes, failure to recognize the detrimental effects of lost genome-wide genetic variation on long-term population viability will only worsen the biodiversity crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marty Kardos
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA 98112;
| | | | - Sarah W Fitzpatrick
- W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
| | - Samantha Hauser
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53211
| | - Philip W Hedrick
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287
| | - Joshua M Miller
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, CA 92027
- Polar Bears International, Bozeman, MT 59772
- Department of Biological Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2, Canada
| | - David A Tallmon
- Biology and Marine Biology Program, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK 99801
| | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
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19
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Abstract
The unprecedented rate of extinction calls for efficient use of genetics to help conserve biodiversity. Several recent genomic and simulation-based studies have argued that the field of conservation biology has placed too much focus on conserving genome-wide genetic variation, and that the field should instead focus on managing the subset of functional genetic variation that is thought to affect fitness. Here, we critically evaluate the feasibility and likely benefits of this approach in conservation. We find that population genetics theory and empirical results show that conserving genome-wide genetic variation is generally the best approach to prevent inbreeding depression and loss of adaptive potential from driving populations toward extinction. Focusing conservation efforts on presumably functional genetic variation will only be feasible occasionally, often misleading, and counterproductive when prioritized over genome-wide genetic variation. Given the increasing rate of habitat loss and other environmental changes, failure to recognize the detrimental effects of lost genome-wide genetic variation on long-term population viability will only worsen the biodiversity crisis.
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20
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Wang Y, Zhao Y, Bollas A, Wang Y, Au KF. Nanopore sequencing technology, bioinformatics and applications. Nat Biotechnol 2021; 39:1348-1365. [PMID: 34750572 PMCID: PMC8988251 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-021-01108-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 537] [Impact Index Per Article: 179.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Rapid advances in nanopore technologies for sequencing single long DNA and RNA molecules have led to substantial improvements in accuracy, read length and throughput. These breakthroughs have required extensive development of experimental and bioinformatics methods to fully exploit nanopore long reads for investigations of genomes, transcriptomes, epigenomes and epitranscriptomes. Nanopore sequencing is being applied in genome assembly, full-length transcript detection and base modification detection and in more specialized areas, such as rapid clinical diagnoses and outbreak surveillance. Many opportunities remain for improving data quality and analytical approaches through the development of new nanopores, base-calling methods and experimental protocols tailored to particular applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhao Wang
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yue Zhao
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Biomedical Informatics Shared Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Audrey Bollas
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Yuru Wang
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Kin Fai Au
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Biomedical Informatics Shared Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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21
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Samaha G, Wade CM, Mazrier H, Grueber CE, Haase B. Exploiting genomic synteny in Felidae: cross-species genome alignments and SNV discovery can aid conservation management. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:601. [PMID: 34362297 PMCID: PMC8348863 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07899-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background While recent advances in genomics has enabled vast improvements in the quantification of genome-wide diversity and the identification of adaptive and deleterious alleles in model species, wildlife and non-model species have largely not reaped the same benefits. This has been attributed to the resources and infrastructure required to develop essential genomic datasets such as reference genomes. In the absence of a high-quality reference genome, cross-species alignments can provide reliable, cost-effective methods for single nucleotide variant (SNV) discovery. Here, we demonstrated the utility of cross-species genome alignment methods in gaining insights into population structure and functional genomic features in cheetah (Acinonyx jubatas), snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), relative to the domestic cat (Felis catus). Results Alignment of big cats to the domestic cat reference assembly yielded nearly complete sequence coverage of the reference genome. From this, 38,839,061 variants in cheetah, 15,504,143 in snow leopard and 13,414,953 in Sumatran tiger were discovered and annotated. This method was able to delineate population structure but limited in its ability to adequately detect rare variants. Enrichment analysis of fixed and species-specific SNVs revealed insights into adaptive traits, evolutionary history and the pathogenesis of heritable diseases. Conclusions The high degree of synteny among felid genomes enabled the successful application of the domestic cat reference in high-quality SNV detection. The datasets presented here provide a useful resource for future studies into population dynamics, evolutionary history and genetic and disease management of big cats. This cross-species method of variant discovery provides genomic context for identifying annotated gene regions essential to understanding adaptive and deleterious variants that can improve conservation outcomes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07899-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgina Samaha
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Claire M Wade
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Hamutal Mazrier
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Catherine E Grueber
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Bianca Haase
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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22
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Prasad A, Lorenzen ED, Westbury MV. Evaluating the role of reference-genome phylogenetic distance on evolutionary inference. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:45-55. [PMID: 34176238 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
When a high-quality genome assembly of a target species is unavailable, an option to avoid the costly de novo assembly process is a mapping-based assembly. However, mapping shotgun data to a distant relative may lead to biased or erroneous evolutionary inference. Here, we used short-read data from a mammal (beluga whale) and a bird species (rowi kiwi) to evaluate whether reference genome phylogenetic distance can impact downstream demographic (Pairwise Sequentially Markovian Coalescent) and genetic diversity (heterozygosity, runs of homozygosity) analyses. We mapped to assemblies of species of varying phylogenetic distance (from conspecific to genome-wide divergence of >7%), and de novo assemblies created using cross-species scaffolding. We show that while reference genome phylogenetic distance has an impact on demographic analyses, it is not pronounced until using a reference genome with >3% divergence from the target species. When mapping to cross-species scaffolded assemblies, we are unable to replicate the original beluga demographic results, but are able with the rowi kiwi, presumably reflecting the more fragmented nature of the beluga assemblies. We find that increased phylogenetic distance has a pronounced impact on genetic diversity estimates; heterozygosity estimates deviate incrementally with increasing phylogenetic distance. Moreover, runs of homozygosity are largely undetectable when mapping to any nonconspecific assembly. However, these biases can be reduced when mapping to a cross-species scaffolded assembly. Taken together, our results show that caution should be exercised when selecting reference genomes. Cross-species scaffolding may offer a way to avoid a costly, traditional de novo assembly, while still producing robust, evolutionary inference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aparna Prasad
- GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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23
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Schweizer RM, Saarman N, Ramstad KM, Forester BR, Kelley JL, Hand BK, Malison RL, Ackiss AS, Watsa M, Nelson TC, Beja-Pereira A, Waples RS, Funk WC, Luikart G. Big Data in Conservation Genomics: Boosting Skills, Hedging Bets, and Staying Current in the Field. J Hered 2021; 112:313-327. [PMID: 33860294 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esab019] [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: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
A current challenge in the fields of evolutionary, ecological, and conservation genomics is balancing production of large-scale datasets with additional training often required to handle such datasets. Thus, there is an increasing need for conservation geneticists to continually learn and train to stay up-to-date through avenues such as symposia, meetings, and workshops. The ConGen meeting is a near-annual workshop that strives to guide participants in understanding population genetics principles, study design, data processing, analysis, interpretation, and applications to real-world conservation issues. Each year of ConGen gathers a diverse set of instructors, students, and resulting lectures, hands-on sessions, and discussions. Here, we summarize key lessons learned from the 2019 meeting and more recent updates to the field with a focus on big data in conservation genomics. First, we highlight classical and contemporary issues in study design that are especially relevant to working with big datasets, including the intricacies of data filtering. We next emphasize the importance of building analytical skills and simulating data, and how these skills have applications within and outside of conservation genetics careers. We also highlight recent technological advances and novel applications to conservation of wild populations. Finally, we provide data and recommendations to support ongoing efforts by ConGen organizers and instructors-and beyond-to increase participation of underrepresented minorities in conservation and eco-evolutionary sciences. The future success of conservation genetics requires both continual training in handling big data and a diverse group of people and approaches to tackle key issues, including the global biodiversity-loss crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rena M Schweizer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
| | - Norah Saarman
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT
| | - Kristina M Ramstad
- Department of Biology and Geology, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC
| | | | - Joanna L Kelley
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
| | - Brian K Hand
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.,Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT
| | - Rachel L Malison
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT
| | - Amanda S Ackiss
- Wisconsin Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI
| | | | | | - Albano Beja-Pereira
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO-UP), InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.,DGAOT, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Sustainable Agrifood Production Research Centre (GreenUPorto), Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Robin S Waples
- Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Seattle, WA
| | - W Chris Funk
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
| | - Gordon Luikart
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.,Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, MT
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24
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Bredemeyer KR, Harris AJ, Li G, Zhao L, Foley NM, Roelke-Parker M, O’Brien SJ, Lyons LA, Warren WC, Murphy WJ. Ultracontinuous Single Haplotype Genome Assemblies for the Domestic Cat (Felis catus) and Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). J Hered 2021; 112:165-173. [PMID: 33305796 PMCID: PMC8006817 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esaa057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In addition to including one of the most popular companion animals, species from the cat family Felidae serve as a powerful system for genetic analysis of inherited and infectious disease, as well as for the study of phenotypic evolution and speciation. Previous diploid-based genome assemblies for the domestic cat have served as the primary reference for genomic studies within the cat family. However, these versions suffered from poor resolution of complex and highly repetitive regions, with substantial amounts of unplaced sequence that is polymorphic or copy number variable. We sequenced the genome of a female F1 Bengal hybrid cat, the offspring of a domestic cat (Felis catus) x Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) cross, with PacBio long sequence reads and used Illumina sequence reads from the parents to phase >99.9% of the reads into the 2 species' haplotypes. De novo assembly of the phased reads produced highly continuous haploid genome assemblies for the domestic cat and Asian leopard cat, with contig N50 statistics exceeding 83 Mb for both genomes. Whole-genome alignments reveal the Felis and Prionailurus genomes are colinear, and the cytogenetic differences between the homologous F1 and E4 chromosomes represent a case of centromere repositioning in the absence of a chromosomal inversion. Both assemblies offer significant improvements over the previous domestic cat reference genome, with a 100% increase in contiguity and the capture of the vast majority of chromosome arms in 1 or 2 large contigs. We further demonstrated that comparably accurate F1 haplotype phasing can be achieved with members of the same species when one or both parents of the trio are not available. These novel genome resources will empower studies of feline precision medicine, adaptation, and speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Bredemeyer
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
- Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
| | - Andrew J Harris
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
- Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
| | - Gang Li
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Le Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Nicole M Foley
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
| | - Melody Roelke-Parker
- Frederick National Laboratory of Cancer Research, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick, MD
| | - Stephen J O’Brien
- Laboratory of Genomic Diversity-Center for Computer Technologies, ITMO University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
- Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
| | - Leslie A Lyons
- Department of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
| | - Wesley C Warren
- Bond Life Science Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
| | - William J Murphy
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
- Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
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25
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Allio R, Tilak MK, Scornavacca C, Avenant NL, Kitchener AC, Corre E, Nabholz B, Delsuc F. High-quality carnivoran genomes from roadkill samples enable comparative species delineation in aardwolf and bat-eared fox. eLife 2021; 10:e63167. [PMID: 33599612 PMCID: PMC7963486 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In a context of ongoing biodiversity erosion, obtaining genomic resources from wildlife is essential for conservation. The thousands of yearly mammalian roadkill provide a useful source material for genomic surveys. To illustrate the potential of this underexploited resource, we used roadkill samples to study the genomic diversity of the bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) and the aardwolf (Proteles cristatus), both having subspecies with similar disjunct distributions in Eastern and Southern Africa. First, we obtained reference genomes with high contiguity and gene completeness by combining Nanopore long reads and Illumina short reads. Then, we showed that the two subspecies of aardwolf might warrant species status (P. cristatus and P. septentrionalis) by comparing their genome-wide genetic differentiation to pairs of well-defined species across Carnivora with a new Genetic Differentiation index (GDI) based on only a few resequenced individuals. Finally, we obtained a genome-scale Carnivora phylogeny including the new aardwolf species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Allio
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Marie-Ka Tilak
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Celine Scornavacca
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
| | - Nico L Avenant
- National Museum and Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free StateBloemfonteinSouth Africa
| | - Andrew C Kitchener
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums ScotlandEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Erwan Corre
- CNRS, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ABiMS, Station Biologique de RoscoffRoscoffFrance
| | - Benoit Nabholz
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)ParisFrance
| | - Frédéric Delsuc
- Institut des Sciences de l’Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de MontpellierMontpellierFrance
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