Article
Biology
Thomas Lesaffre
Summary: Research shows that inbreeding depression in plants intensifies with increasing life expectancy due to the accumulation of deleterious mutations during growth in long-lived species. However, the impact of mutation rate evolution on inbreeding depression also depends on the extent of mutagenic meiosis relative to growth.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Peter Nabutanyi, Meike J. Wittmann
Summary: This article explores the influence of genetic problems on the estimation of minimum viable population size, and proposes corresponding methods and models. The study finds that the interaction of genetic problems significantly affects the size of minimum viable population, and the size changes rapidly with increasing mutation rates or number of loci. Further empirical studies are needed to reveal the interaction of different genetic processes in the genome.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aryn P. Wilder, Megan A. Supple, Ayshwarya Subramanian, Anish Mudide, Ross Swofford, Aitor Serres-Armero, Cynthia Steiner, Klaus -Peter Koepfli, Diane P. Genereux, Elinor K. Karlsson, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Violeta Munoz Fuentes, Kathleen Foley, Wynn K. Meyer, Oliver A. Ryder, Beth Shapiro
Summary: Species persistence can be affected by the diversity across the genome, with historical effective population size (Ne) playing a crucial role. This study analyzed genetic variation in 240 mammal genomes to investigate the impact of historical Ne on heterozygosity, deleterious genetic load, and extinction risk. The findings indicate that species with smaller historical Ne carry a greater burden of deleterious alleles and have a higher risk of extinction. Genomic data can be used as a predictive tool for conservation status assessment when other census or ecological data are lacking.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher C. Kyriazis, Annabel C. Beichman, Kristin E. Brzeski, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich, Leah M. Vucetich, Kirk E. Lohmueller, Robert K. Wayne
Summary: Island ecosystems provide natural laboratories for studying the impacts of isolation on population persistence. In this study, the genetic variation and population trajectories of moose and gray wolves on Isle Royale are compared. The moose population has thrived and persisted despite low genetic diversity and isolation, while the wolf population nearly went extinct due to severe inbreeding depression. The study highlights the complex relationship between inbreeding, genetic diversity, and population viability in isolated populations.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Giorgio Bertorelle, Francesca Raffini, Mirte Bosse, Chiara Bortoluzzi, Alessio Iannucci, Emiliano Trucchi, Hernan E. Morales, Cock van Oosterhout
Summary: Genetic variation, generated by mutation, recombination, and gene flow, can reduce the average fitness of a population. This genetic load can be estimated using various approaches, such as genome sequencing and computational techniques. Splitting the genetic load into realized load and masked load can improve our understanding of deleterious mutations in population genetics.
NATURE REVIEWS GENETICS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mohamed S. Abd El-Aty, Mahmoud A. El-Hity, Tharwat M. Abo Sen, Ibrahim A. E. Abd El-Rahaman, Omar M. Ibrahim, Ammar Al-Farga, Amira M. El-Tahan
Summary: This study investigated five populations of five faba bean hybrids in Egypt and found significant variations between generations in all studied attributes. The hybrids of Giza 40 and Giza 843 showed the best performance in terms of branches, pods, and seed quantity.
Article
Ecology
Eugenio Lopez-Cortegano, Eulalia Moreno, Aurora Garcia-Dorado
Summary: Inbreeding depression threatens small populations but genetic purging can reduce its effects, as shown in this study on captive breeding programs of endangered ungulates. Purging was found to be effective in smaller populations with lower effective population sizes, while larger populations showed slower purging effects. The study suggests a balance between management strategies and purging for long-term benefits.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shou-Hsien Li, Yang Liu, Chia-Fen Yeh, Yuchen Fu, Carol K. L. Yeung, Chun-Cheng Lee, Chi-Cheng Chiu, Tung Hui Kuo, Fang-Tse Chan, Yu-Chia Chen, Wen-Ya Ko, Cheng-Te Yao
Summary: The endangered black-faced spoonbill experienced a severe population bottleneck in the recent past, leading to decreased genetic diversity and increased accumulation of deleterious mutations. Despite a significant population recovery in recent years, the bird still exhibits higher levels of inbreeding, potentially resulting in more deleterious phenotypic effects compared to its sister species, the royal spoonbill. It is important to continuously monitor genetic erosion, inbreeding, and mutation load in endangered species to ensure their long-term survival.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Davinia Perdomo-Gonzalez, Antonio Molina, Maria J. Sanchez-Guerrero, Ester Bartolome, Luis Varona, Mercedes Valera
Summary: The study analyzed the genetic parameters for reproductive traits in mares of the PRE horse breed and estimated, for the first time, the inbreeding depression load associated with common ancestors of the breed. The results showed significant correlations between additive genetic values and inbreeding depression load, indicating the potential to select horses with genetic value resistant to the deleterious effects of inbreeding.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Josselin Clo, Joelle Ronfort, Laurene Gay
Summary: Studying the consequences of hybridization on plant performance in the predominantly selfing species Medicago truncatula showed that hybridization had different effects on fitness proxies within and among populations, with dry mass displaying heterosis and seed production showing outbreeding depression. Family-based analyses revealed that hybrid differentiation was primarily due to dominance and epistasis, with dominance and/or dominant epistatic interactions increasing dry mass but decreasing seed production, and recessive epistatic interactions generally having a positive effect on fitness proxies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joao C. Teixeira, Christian D. Huber
Summary: Conservation genetics aims to evaluate population health and extinction risk based on genetic diversity levels, but neutral genetic diversity is not the only factor affecting species extinction risk. A deeper understanding of functional genetic diversity, demographic history, and ecological relationships is necessary for developing effective conservation genetic strategies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pim van Hooft, Wayne M. Getz, Barend J. Greyling, Bas Zwaan, Armanda D. S. Bastos
Summary: This study reveals continent-wide and genome-wide selection of male-deleterious alleles in African buffalo, leading to frequency clines and reduced heterozygosity. The selection pressures involved may be related to a sex-chromosomal meiotic drive system, and most buffalo populations are able to withstand a high genetic load.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Lucas Marie-Orleach, Christian Brochmann, Sylvain Glemin
Summary: Self-fertilisation is common in hermaphroditic species and has significant impacts on genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics. It can promote speciation by increasing genetic drift and reducing migration, but it can also hinder ecological speciation by reducing selection efficacy. This study uses a population genetics model to investigate the effects of selfing on the accumulation of reproductive isolation. The results show that selfing reduces the depth and breadth of fitness valleys, facilitating the fixation of incompatibilities. In addition, selfing accelerates the fixation of incompatibilities caused by interactions between derived alleles of different genes, even in the presence of local adaptation. These findings contribute to our understanding of the accumulation of incompatibilities in selfing and outcrossing lineages, and shed light on the process of speciation in selfing lineages.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Noelia Perez-Pereira, Jinliang Wang, Humberto Quesada, Armando Caballero
Summary: This article investigates the influence of purging on the establishment of a minimum viable population (MVP) for long-term survival. Computer simulations were used to study extinction times and loss of genetic diversity for different effective population sizes. The results indicate that purging can reduce the MVP needed for a population to persist in the long term, especially for species with higher reproductive rates.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria Chiara Fabbri, Christos Dadousis, Francesco Tiezzi, Christian Maltecca, Emmanuel Lozada-Soto, Stefano Biffani, Riccardo Bozzi
Summary: In this research, eight Italian beef cattle breeds were analyzed for runs of homozygosity (ROH) using the GeneSeek GGP-LDv4 33k single nucleotide polymorphism chip. Variations in ROH, inbreeding levels, and genomic regions were observed among different breeds, with specific breed-related genetic clusters identified. The study also found significant differences in autozygosity and inbreeding levels among breeds, with certain breeds having a higher frequency of short ROH and higher genomic inbreeding levels.