Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation

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

doi:10.1111/mec.17205

Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation

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 RasmussenChristina 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^*

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

8 Citationer (Scopus)

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.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	e17205
Tidsskrift	Molecular Ecology
Vol/bind	33
Nummer	2
Antal sider	25
ISSN	0962-1083
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17205
Status	Udgivet - jan. 2024

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Pečnerová, P., Lord, E., Garcia-Erill, G., Hanghøj, K., Rasmussen, M. S., Meisner, J., Liu, X., van der Valk, T., Santander, C. G., Quinn, L., Lin, L., Liu, S., Carøe, C., Dalerum, F., Götherström, A., Måsviken, J., Vartanyan, S., Raundrup, K., Al-Chaer, A., ... Siegismund, H. R. (2024). Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation. Molecular Ecology, 33(2), Artikel e17205. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17205

@article{b7ce4b5554e54b24a20e98d6c2a603fd,

title = "Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation",

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.",

keywords = "ancient DNA, genetic diversity, genetic load, inbreeding, muskox, population genomics",

author = "Patr{\'i}cia Pe{\v c}nerov{\'a} and Edana Lord and Gen{\'i}s Garcia-Erill and Kristian Hangh{\o}j and Rasmussen, {Malthe Sebro} and Jonas Meisner and Xiaodong Liu and Tom van der Valk and Santander, {Cindy G.} and Liam Quinn and Long Lin and Shanlin Liu and Christian Car{\o}e and Fredrik Dalerum and Anders G{\"o}therstr{\"o}m and Johannes M{\aa}sviken and Sergey Vartanyan and Katrine Raundrup and Amal Al-Chaer and Linett Rasmussen and Christina Hvilsom and Heide-J{\o}rgensen, {Mads Peter} and Sinding, {Mikkel Holger S.} and Peter Aastrup and Van Coeverden de Groot, {Peter J.} and Schmidt, {Niels Martin} and Anders Albrechtsen and Love Dal{\'e}n and Rasmus Heller and Ida Moltke and Siegismund, {Hans Redlef}",

year = "2024",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1111/mec.17205",

language = "English",

volume = "33",

journal = "Molecular Ecology",

issn = "0962-1083",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "2",

}

Pečnerová, P, Lord, E, Garcia-Erill, G, Hanghøj, K, Rasmussen, MS, Meisner, J, Liu, X, van der Valk, T, Santander, CG, Quinn, L, Lin, L, Liu, S, Carøe, C, Dalerum, F, Götherström, A, Måsviken, J, Vartanyan, S, Raundrup, K, Al-Chaer, A, Rasmussen, L, Hvilsom, C, Heide-Jørgensen, MP, Sinding, MHS, Aastrup, P, Van Coeverden de Groot, PJ, Schmidt, NM, Albrechtsen, A, Dalén, L, Heller, R, Moltke, I & Siegismund, HR 2024, 'Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation', Molecular Ecology, bind 33, nr. 2, e17205. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17205

TY - JOUR

T1 - Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation

AU - Pečnerová, Patrícia

AU - Lord, Edana

AU - Garcia-Erill, Genís

AU - Hanghøj, Kristian

AU - Rasmussen, Malthe Sebro

AU - Meisner, Jonas

AU - Liu, Xiaodong

AU - van der Valk, Tom

AU - Santander, Cindy G.

AU - Quinn, Liam

AU - Lin, Long

AU - Liu, Shanlin

AU - Carøe, Christian

AU - Dalerum, Fredrik

AU - Götherström, Anders

AU - Måsviken, Johannes

AU - Vartanyan, Sergey

AU - Raundrup, Katrine

AU - Al-Chaer, Amal

AU - Rasmussen, Linett

AU - Hvilsom, Christina

AU - Heide-Jørgensen, Mads Peter

AU - Sinding, Mikkel Holger S.

AU - Aastrup, Peter

AU - Van Coeverden de Groot, Peter J.

AU - Schmidt, Niels Martin

AU - Albrechtsen, Anders

AU - Dalén, Love

AU - Heller, Rasmus

AU - Moltke, Ida

AU - Siegismund, Hans Redlef

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - ancient DNA

KW - genetic diversity

KW - genetic load

KW - inbreeding

KW - muskox

KW - population genomics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176923803&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/mec.17205

DO - 10.1111/mec.17205

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37971141

AN - SCOPUS:85176923803

SN - 0962-1083

VL - 33

JO - Molecular Ecology

JF - Molecular Ecology

IS - 2

M1 - e17205

ER -

Population genomics of the muskox' resilience in the near absence of genetic variation

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