Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii )

Sarah Hendricks; Brendan Epstein; Barbara Schönfeld; Cody Wiench; Rodrigo Hamede; Menna Jones; Andrew Storfer; Paul Hohenlohe

doi:10.1007/s10592-017-0939-5

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Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii )

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Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii )

Sarah Hendricks, Brendan Epstein, Barbara Schönfeld, Cody Wiench, Rodrigo Hamede, Menna Jones, Andrew Storfer and Paul Hohenlohe

Conservation genetics, Vol.18(4), pp.977-982

08/2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-017-0939-5

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https://hdl.handle.net/2376/110040

PMCID: PMC5614444

PMID: 28966567

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-017-0939-5View

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Abstract

gene flow

population bottlenecks

transmissible cancer

conservation genomics

devil facial tumor disease

RAD sequencing

Tasmanian 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 ( = 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.

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Title: Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii )
Creators: Sarah Hendricks - Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr., Moscow, Idaho 83844-3051, USA
Brendan Epstein - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
Barbara Schönfeld - School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart 7001, AUSTRALIA
Cody Wiench - Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr., Moscow, Idaho 83844-3051, USA
Rodrigo Hamede - School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart 7001, AUSTRALIA
Menna Jones - School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart 7001, AUSTRALIA
Andrew Storfer - School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
Paul Hohenlohe - Institute for Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr., Moscow, Idaho 83844-3051, USA
Publication Details: Conservation genetics, Vol.18(4), pp.977-982
Academic Unit: Biological Sciences, School of
Publisher: Netherlands
Grant note: P30 GM103324 / NIGMS NIH HHS
Identifiers: 99900547390201842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article