Dataset Information

White and other fur colourations and hybridization in golden jackals (Canis aureus) in the Carpathian basin.

ABSTRACT: The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a reoccurring species in the centre of the Carpathian basin, in Hungary. In total, 31 golden jackal tissue samples were collected, from 8 white-coated, 2 black-coated and one mottled animal across Hungary. Sequences and fragment length polymorphisms were studied for white colour (MC1R), and for black coat colouration (CBD103). In each white animal, the most widespread mutation causing white fur colour in dogs in homozygous form was detected. Three animals were found to carry the mutation in heterozygous form. The two black golden jackals were heterozygous for the 3 bp deletion in CBD103 that mutation for black coat colouration in dogs, and one of them also carried the mutation causing white fur. None of the white animals showed signs of hybridization, but both the black and the mottled coloured individuals were found to be hybrids based on genetic testing. Kinship was found three times, twice between white animals, and once between a white animal and an agouti animal carrying the mutation of white coat. Our results confirm the findings that golden jackal-dog hybrids may occur without human intervention, and the detected mutation causing white fur colour in golden jackals could possibly be due to an early hybridization event.

SUBMITTER: Ninausz N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10713657 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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White and other fur colourations and hybridization in golden jackals (Canis aureus) in the Carpathian basin.

Ninausz Nóra N Fehér Péter P Csányi Erika E Heltai Miklós M Szabó László L Barta Endre E Kemenszky Péter P Sándor Gyula G Jánoska Ferenc F Horváth Mihály M Kusza Szilvia S Frank Krisztián K Varga László L Stéger Viktor V

Scientific reports 20231211 1

The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a reoccurring species in the centre of the Carpathian basin, in Hungary. In total, 31 golden jackal tissue samples were collected, from 8 white-coated, 2 black-coated and one mottled animal across Hungary. Sequences and fragment length polymorphisms were studied for white colour (MC1R), and for black coat colouration (CBD103). In each white animal, the most widespread mutation causing white fur colour in dogs in homozygous form was detected. Three animals were ...[more]

PMID: 38082037

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Project description:Golden jackal (Canis aureus) expansion in the last decades has triggered research interest in Europe. However, jackal phylogeny and taxonomy are still controversial. Morphometric studies in Europe found differences between Dalmatian and the other European jackals. Recent genetic studies revealed that African and Eurasian golden jackals are distinct species. Moreover, large Canis aureus lupaster may be a cryptic subspecies of the African golden jackal. Although genetic studies suggest changes in Canis aureus taxonomy, morphological and morphometric studies are still needed. The present study proposes the first comprehensive analysis on a wide scale of golden jackal skull morphometry. Extensive morphometric data of jackal skulls from Europe (including a very large Bulgarian sample), Asia Minor, and North Africa were analysed, by applying recently developed statistical tools, to address the following questions: (i) is there geographic variation in skull size and shape among populations from Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus?, (ii) is the jackal population from the Dalmatian coast different?, and (iii) is there a clear distinction between the Eurasian golden jackal (Canis aureus) and the African wolf (Canis lupaster sensu lato), and among populations of African wolves as well? Principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis were applied on the standardized and log-transformed ratios of the original measurements to clearly separate specimens by shape and size. The results suggest that jackals from Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus belong to one subspecies: Canis aureus moreotica (I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1835), despite the differences in shape of Dalmatian specimens. The present study confirmed morphometrically that all jackals included so far in the taxon Canis aureus sensu lato may represent three taxa and supports the hypothesis that at least two different taxa (species?) of Canis occur in North Africa, indicating the need for further genetic, morphological, behavioural and ecological research to resolve the taxonomic uncertainty. The results are consistent with recent genetic and morphological studies and give further insights on golden jackal taxonomy. Understanding the species phylogeny and taxonomy is crucial for the conservation and management of the expanding golden jackal population in Europe.

Project description:In the first continent-wide study of the golden jackal (Canis aureus), we characterised its population genetic structure and attempted to identify the origin of European populations. This provided a unique insight into genetic characteristics of a native carnivore population with rapid large-scale expansion. We analysed 15 microsatellite markers and a 406 base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Bayesian-based and principal components methods were applied to evaluate whether the geographical grouping of samples corresponded with genetic groups. Our analysis revealed low levels of genetic diversity, reflecting the unique history of the golden jackal among Europe's native carnivores. The results suggest ongoing gene flow between south-eastern Europe and the Caucasus, with both contributing to the Baltic population, which appeared only recently. The population from the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece forms a common genetic cluster with samples from south-eastern Europe (ΔK approach in STRUCTURE, Principal Components Analysis [PCA]), although the results based on BAPS and the estimated likelihood in STRUCTURE indicate that Peloponnesian jackals may represent a distinct population. Moreover, analyses of population structure also suggest either genetic distinctiveness of the island population from Samos near the coast of Asia Minor (BAPS, most STRUCTURE, PCA), or possibly its connection with the Caucasus population (one analysis in STRUCTURE). We speculate from our results that ancient Mediterranean jackal populations have persisted to the present day, and have merged with jackals colonising from Asia. These data also suggest that new populations of the golden jackal may be founded by long-distance dispersal, and thus should not be treated as an invasive alien species, i.e. an organism that is "non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health". These insights into the genetic structure and ancestry of Baltic jackals have important implications for management and conservation of jackals in Europe. The golden jackal is listed as an Annex V species in the EU Habitats Directive and as such, considering also the results presented here, should be legally protected in all EU member states.

Project description:The golden jackal (Canis aureus) is one of the most common and widely distributed carnivores in India but phylogeographic studies on the species have been limited across its range. Recent studies have observed absence of mitochondrial (mt) DNA diversity in European populations while some North African populations of golden jackal were found to carry gray wolf (Canis lupus lupaster) mtDNA lineages. In the present study, we sequenced 440 basepairs (bp) of control region (CR) and 412 bp of cytochrome b (cyt b) gene of mtDNA from 62 golden jackals sampled from India (n = 55), Israel (n = 2) and Bulgaria (n = 5), to obtain a total of eighteen haplotypes, comprising sixteen from India and one each from Israel and Bulgaria. Except for three previously described haplotypes represented by one cyt b and one CR haplotype both from India, and one CR haplotype from Bulgaria, all haplotypes identified in this study are new. Genetic diversity was high in golden jackals compared to that reported for other canids in India. Unlike the paraphyletic status of African conspecifics with the gray wolf, the Indian (and other Eurasian) golden jackal clustered in a distinct but shallow monophyletic clade, displaying no evidence of admixture with sympatric and related gray wolf and domestic dog clades in the region. Phylogeographic analyses indicated no clear pattern of genetic structuring of the golden jackal haplotypes and the median joining network revealed a star-shaped polytomy indicative of recent expansion of the species from India. Indian haplotypes were observed to be interior and thus ancestral compared to haplotypes from Europe and Israel, which were peripheral and hence more derived. Molecular tests for demographic expansion confirmed a recent event of expansion of golden jackals in the Indian subcontinent, which can be traced back ~ 37,000 years ago during the late Pleistocene. Our results suggest that golden jackals have had a potentially longer evolutionary history in India than in other parts of the world, although further sampling from Africa, the Middle East and south-east Asia is needed to test this hypothesis.

Project description:BackgroundDirofilariosis is a parasitic mosquito-borne disease caused by members of the genus Dirofilaria, which includes Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens. Surveillance studies in Europe have revealed that D. immitis can also be detected in a range of wild carnivores, raising questions over the impact of infections on wild carnivore animal health but also whether these populations may act as a reservoir for infection of other species, including domestic dogs and humans.MethodsIn the current study, we conducted surveillance for the presence of D. immitis in several wild carnivore species, including golden jackals (Canis aureus; n = 77), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes; n = 326), and European badgers (Meles meles; n = 28), collected during an annual rabies surveillance and control program from across continental and coastal regions of Croatia.ResultsMacroscopic examination of the right chambers of the heart during a post-mortem examination resulted in the detection of filarial parasites in 6.5% (5/77) golden jackal carcasses. Morphological identification, confirmed by molecular screening, classified all parasites as D. immitis. No D. immitis were detected in the red foxes or European badgers examined. All infected golden jackals were adults aged from 2 to 7 years with a parasite load ranging from 2 to 7 nematodes per carcass. One animal was infected with a sexually mature pair, while a second harbored pre-mature parasites; the remaining positive jackals were infected with female parasites only. Notably, histological examination of cardiac and lung tissue revealed proliferative endarteritis in the jackal with the highest parasite burden.ConclusionsFurther studies are required to establish whether golden jackals, as well as other wild carnivore hosts, may serve as competent definitive hosts of D. immitis and act as reservoirs for infection of other species including domestic dogs and humans. Histological changes in the cardiac tissue of at least one positive jackal were suggestive of infection with pathological consequences for the host.

Dataset Information

White and other fur colourations and hybridization in golden jackals (Canis aureus) in the Carpathian basin.

Publications

White and other fur colourations and hybridization in golden jackals (Canis aureus) in the Carpathian basin.

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