Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Genomic studies of species threatened by extinction are providing crucial information about evolutionary mechanisms and genetic consequences of population declines and bottlenecks. However, to understand how species avoid the extinction vortex, insights can be drawn by studying species that thrive despite past declines. Here, we studied the population genomics of the muskox (Ovibos moschatus), an Ice Age relict that was at the brink of extinction for thousands of years at the end of the Pleistocene yet appears to be thriving today. We analysed 108 whole genomes, including present-day individuals representing the current native range of both muskox subspecies, the white-faced and the barren-ground muskox (O. moschatus wardi and O. moschatus moschatus) and a ~21,000-year-old ancient individual from Siberia. We found that the muskox' demographic history was profoundly shaped by past climate changes and post-glacial re-colonizations. In particular, the white-faced muskox has the lowest genome-wide heterozygosity recorded in an ungulate. Yet, there is no evidence of inbreeding depression in native muskox populations. We hypothesize that this can be explained by the effect of long-term gradual population declines that allowed for purging of strongly deleterious mutations. This study provides insights into how species with a history of population bottlenecks, small population sizes and low genetic diversity survive against all odds.
Source: Molecular Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/mec.17205
Authors: Patrícia Pečnerová, Edana Lord, Genís Garcia‐Erill, Kristian Hanghøj, Malthe Sebro Rasmussen, Jonas Meisner, Xiaodong Liu, Tom van der Valk, Cindy G. Santander, Liam Quinn, Long Lin, Shanlin Liu, Christian Carøe, Fredrik Dalerum, Anders Götherström, Johannes Måsviken, Sergey Vartanyan, Katrine Raundrup, Amal Al‐Chaer, Linett Rasmussen, Christina Hvilsom, Mads Peter Heide‐Jørgensen, Mikkel‐Holger S. Sinding, Peter Aastrup, Peter J. Van Coeverden de Groot, Niels Martin Schmidt, Anders Albrechtsen, Love Dalén, Rasmus Heller, Ida Moltke, Hans Redlef Siegismund
Institutions: University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Zoo, Stockholm University, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Centre for Palaeogenetics, Zealand University Hospital Køge, China Agricultural University, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto Mixto de Investigación en Biodiversidad, University of Pretoria, Russian Academy of Sciences, North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Grønlands Naturinstitut, Aarhus University, Queen's University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4388733763