Functional genomic diversity is correlated with neutral genomic diversity in populations of an endangered rattlesnake.

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 est

SUBMITTER: Mathur S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10614936 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature