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Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 04:59 authored by Hendricks, S, Epstein, B, Schonfeld, B, Wiench, C, Rodrigo Hamede RossRodrigo Hamede Ross, Menna JonesMenna Jones, Storfer, A, Hohenlohe, PTasmanian devils face a combination of threats to persistence, including devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), an epidemic transmissible cancer. We used RAD sequencing to investigate genome-wide patterns of genetic diversity and geographic population structure. Consistent with previous results, we found very low genetic diversity in the species as a whole, and we detected two broad genetic clusters occupying the northwestern portion of the range, and the central and eastern portions. However, these two groups overlap across a broad geographic area, and differentiation between them is modest (FST = 0.1081). Our results refine the geographic extent of the zone of mixed ancestry and substructure within it, potentially informing management of genetic variation that existed in pre-diseased populations of the species. DFTD has spread across both genetic clusters, but recent evidence points to a genomic response to selection imposed by DFTD. Any allelic variation for resistance to DFTD may be able to spread across the devil population under selection by DFTD, and/or be present as standing variation in both genetic regions.
History
Publication title
Conservation GeneticsVolume
18Issue
4Pagination
977-982ISSN
1566-0621Department/School
School of Natural SciencesPublisher
Kluwer Academic PublPlace of publication
Van Godewijckstraat 30, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 3311 GzRights statement
Copyright 2017 Springer Science+Business Media DordrechtRepository Status
- Restricted