Functional genomic diversity is correlated with neutral genomic diversity in populations of an endangered rattlesnake
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Theory predicts that genetic erosion in small, isolated populations of endangered species can be assessed using estimates of neutral genetic variation, yet this widely used approach has recently been questioned in the genomics era. Here, we leverage a chromosome-level genome assembly of an endangered rattlesnake ( Sistrurus catenatus ) combined with whole genome resequencing data (N = 110 individuals) to evaluate the relationship between levels of genome-wide neutral and functional diversity over historical and future timescales. As predicted, we found positive correlations between genome-wide estimates of neutral genetic diversity (π) and inferred levels of adaptive variation and an estimate of inbreeding mutation load, and a negative relationship between neutral diversity and an estimate of drift mutation load. However, these correlations were half as strong for projected future levels of neutral diversity based on contemporary effective population sizes. Broadly, our results confirm that estimates of neutral genetic diversity provide an accurate measure of genetic erosion in populations of a threatened vertebrate. They also provide nuance to the neutral-functional diversity controversy by suggesting that while these correlations exist, anthropogenetic impacts may have weakened these associations in the recent past and into the future.
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: Ohio Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of the Interior, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, College of Engineering, Michigan State University, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W4387665104