Article
Ecology
Scott A. Martin, William E. Peterman, Gregory J. J. Lipps Jr, H. Lisle Gibbs
Summary: Assessing environmental factors for species movement is crucial for identifying conservation actions that connect isolated populations. However, direct observations are limited, so alternate approaches like landscape genetic analyses are necessary. This study uses such analysis to assess the impact of landscape features on the movement of the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. The findings highlight the importance of land-cover and inherent landscape features on current connectivity, and provide valuable information for guiding future habitat modification and land acquisition actions to connect isolated populations.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2023)
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
Xuejing Wang, Stephan Peischl, Gerald Heckel
Summary: Increased human activities have caused genetic isolation and negative fitness effects in many species. Through full genome sequencing, it has been discovered that common voles in the Orkney archipelago have remained genetically isolated from mainland populations for over 5,000 years. Despite large population sizes, Orkney voles have low genetic diversity and high levels of deleterious variation. The long-term persistence and success of Orkney voles in isolation may be attributed to benign environmental conditions and the effects of soft selection.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Whitney J. B. Anthonysamy, Michael J. Dreslik, Sarah J. Baker, Mark A. Davis, Marlis R. Douglas, Michael E. Douglas, Christopher A. Phillips
Summary: Measures of gene flow and genetic diversity are crucial for evaluating population trends and considering management and conservation strategies for wildlife. In this study, a molecular assessment was conducted on the remaining Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake hibernacula in Illinois to understand diversity and connectivity patterns. The results showed limited connectivity and distinct genetic clusters among the study areas, emphasizing the need for separate management units and preservation of genetic diversity.
Article
Biology
David Tian, Austin H. Patton, Bruce J. Turner, Christopher H. Martin
Summary: Small populations with limited range are at risk of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity. The study found that the Devils Hole pupfish has extremely high levels of inbreeding and potentially harmful genetic variations, highlighting the importance of managing this critically endangered species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
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
Biodiversity Conservation
Erika Bauza Nowotny, Peter J. Lyons, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske
Summary: The Eastern massasauga rattlesnake population is facing severe threats and its numbers are declining rapidly. The current management methods are inadequate for assessing the species' status, hence a non-invasive genetic analysis method using shed skin is proposed. This method shows promise for improving species conservation management.
CONSERVATION GENETICS RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Antoine Fraimout, Pasi Rastas, Lei Lv, Juha Merila
Summary: Using experimental cross data and genome-wide identity-by-descent (IBD) relationships, this study finds a significant decrease in offspring survival probability with increasing parental IBD sharing in an outbred marine nine-spined stickleback population, indicating substantial inbreeding load. Interestingly, a positive effect of paternal inbreeding coefficient on offspring survival suggests that certain combinations of parental inbreeding and genetic relatedness among mates may promote offspring survival. These results demonstrate the potential for inbreeding depression in outbred populations and highlight the importance of considering fine-scale genetic relatedness in future studies.
Article
Zoology
Evan D. Amber, Gregory J. Lipps, Jennifer M. Myers, Nicholas A. Smeenk, William E. Peterman
Summary: The study on the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (EMR) survey demonstrated that AHDriFT is more effective than traditional survey methods, providing more accurate estimates of population size and activity periods of the species. The research also indicated that AHDriFT can be implemented in a wider range of habitat types, offering a new perspective for further conservation efforts.
HERPETOLOGICAL CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
(2021)
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
Biology
Jordan B. Bemmels, Else K. Mikkelsen, Oliver Haddrath, Rogan M. Colbourne, Hugh A. Robertson, Jason T. Weir
Summary: Small and fragmented populations can lead to rapid genetic differentiation, making it challenging to determine whether neutral genetic structure is due to recent demographic events or long-term evolutionary processes. Despite population declines, most kiwi lineages possess unique adaptations, suggesting significant evolutionary and conservation significance in small threatened populations. This study highlights the importance of whole-genome datasets in addressing uncertainty about the evolutionary and conservation significance of small and fragmented populations.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guillermo Blanco, Francisco Morinha
Summary: The study found that despite a decline in the population size of Egyptian vultures in central Spain, their genetic diversity remained relatively stable over a twelve-year period. Additionally, a high level of relatedness was observed among nestlings from different territories. The impact of recent demographic bottlenecks and the occurrence of inbred mating resulting in lethal malformations in offspring were also documented.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Maria Martinez-Castillero, Luis Varona, Sara Pegolo, Attilio Rossoni, Alessio Cecchinato
Summary: The study investigated inbreeding load for fertility traits in Italian Brown Swiss dairy cattle, analyzing heritabilities and ratios across a range of inbreeding coefficients. It found a clear increase in inbreeding load ratios, particularly in categorical traits. Despite low reliability, predicting inbreeding load effects showed potential for improving performance in certain individuals. This suggests the feasibility of implementing breeding strategies based on favorable inbreeding load predictions.
JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ornithology
Pengcheng Wang, Ping Hu, Jinping Zhang, Lixia Zhang, Jing Zhang, Zhengwang Zhang
Summary: Evaluating the genetic status of threatened species is crucial, but current methods fail to estimate genetic diversity at the whole genomic level. Next generation sequencing can meet this demand, but high quality samples are required. However, it is difficult to collect such samples from threatened species without harming them, so a workflow using non-destructive sampling is essential.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yu Feng, Hans Peter Comes, Jun Chen, Shanshan Zhu, Ruisen Lu, Xinyi Zhang, Pan Li, Jie Qiu, Kenneth M. Olsen, Yingxiong Qiu
Summary: This study investigates the genomic analysis of two East Asian Tertiary relict trees. It reveals large-scale genome reorganizations and species-specific genes under positive selection. The findings suggest that demographic history plays a significant role in the long-term survival and extinction risk of these Tertiary relict trees.