TY  - JOUR
A1  - Casas-Marce, Mireia
A1  - Marmesat, Elena
A1  - Soriano, Laura
A1  - Martinez-Cruz, Begona
A1  - Lucena-Perez, Maria
A1  - Nocete, Francisco
A1  - Rodriguez-Hidalgo, Antonio
A1  - Canals, Antoni
A1  - Nadal, Jordi
A1  - Detry, Cleia
A1  - Bernaldez-Sanchez, Eloisa
A1  - Fernandez-Rodriguez, Carlos
A1  - Perez-Ripoll, Manuel
A1  - Stiller, Mathias
A1  - Hofreiter, Michael
A1  - Rodriguez, Alejandro
A1  - Revilla, Eloy
A1  - Delibes, Miguel
A1  - Godoy, Jose A.
T1  - Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Genetic Variation in the Iberian Lynx along Its Path to Extinction Reconstructed with Ancient DNA
JF  - Molecular biology and evolution
N2  - There is the tendency to assume that endangered species have been both genetically and demographically healthier in the past, so that any genetic erosion observed today was caused by their recent decline. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) suffered a dramatic and continuous decline during the 20th century, and now shows extremely low genome- and species-wide genetic diversity among other signs of genomic erosion. We analyze ancient (N = 10), historical (N = 245), and contemporary (N = 172) samples with microsatellite and mitogenome data to reconstruct the species' demography and investigate patterns of genetic variation across space and time. Iberian lynx populations transitioned from low but significantly higher genetic diversity than today and shallow geographical differentiation millennia ago, through a structured metapopulation with varying levels of diversity during the last centuries, to two extremely genetically depauperate and differentiated remnant populations by 2002. The historical subpopulations show varying extents of genetic drift in relation to their recent size and time in isolation, but these do not predict whether the populations persisted or went finally extinct. In conclusion, current genetic patterns were mainly shaped by genetic drift, supporting the current admixture of the two genetic pools and calling for a comprehensive genetic management of the ongoing conservation program. This study illustrates how a retrospective analysis of demographic and genetic patterns of endangered species can shed light onto their evolutionary history and this, in turn, can inform conservation actions.
KW  - Iberian lynx
KW  - ancient DNA
KW  - paleogenetics
KW  - genetic erosion
KW  - endangered species
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msx222
SN  - 0737-4038
SN  - 1537-1719
VL  - 34
SP  - 2893
EP  - 2907
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwensow, Nina
A1  - Mazzoni, Camila J.
A1  - Marmesat, Elena
A1  - Fickel, Jörns
A1  - Peacock, David
A1  - Kovaliski, John
A1  - Sinclair, Ron
A1  - Cassey, Phillip
A1  - Cooke, Brian
A1  - Sommer, Simone
T1  - High adaptive variability and virus-driven selection on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in invasive wild rabbits in Australia
JF  - Biological invasions : unique international journal uniting scientists in the broad field of biological invasions
N2  - The rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) was imported into Australia in 1995 as a biocontrol agent to manage one of the most successful and devastating invasive species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus). During the first disease outbreaks, RHDV caused mortality rates of up to 97% and reduced Australian rabbit numbers to very low levels. However, recently increased genetic resistance to RHDV and strong population growth has been reported. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I immune genes are important for immune responses against viruses, and a high MHC variability is thought to be crucial in adaptive processes under pathogen-driven selection. We asked whether strong population bottlenecks and presumed genetic drift would have led to low MHC variability in wild Australian rabbits, and if the retained MHC variability was enough to explain the increased resistance against RHD. Despite the past bottlenecks we found a relatively high number of MHC class I sequences distributed over 2-4 loci. We identified positive selection on putative antigen-binding sites of the MHC. We detected evidence for RHDV-driven selection as one MHC supertype was negatively associated with RHD survival, fitting expectations of frequency-dependent selection. Gene duplication and pathogen-driven selection are possible (and likely) mechanisms that maintained the adaptive potential of MHC genes in Australian rabbits. Our findings not only contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of invasive species, they are also important in the light of planned future rabbit biocontrol in Australia.
KW  - Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
KW  - Australian rabbit invasion
KW  - Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV)
KW  - Virus-driven selection
KW  - Adaptive genetic variability
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1329-5
SN  - 1387-3547
SN  - 1573-1464
VL  - 19
SP  - 1255
EP  - 1271
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  -