Assessing the Population Demographic History of the Tsushima Leopard Cat and Its Genetic Divergence Time from Continental Populations.

ABSTRACT: The Tsushima leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus), an endangered feline endemic to Tsushima Island, Japan, faces critical threats due to its small and isolated population. Understanding its demographic history and genetic differentiation from continental populations is essential for conservation planning. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing of four Tsushima individuals and applied demographic inference methods, including pairwise sequentially Markovian coalescent (PSMC) and Sequentially Markovian Coalescent (SMC++), to reconstruct the historical effective population size (Ne) and estimate divergence times. PSMC revealed a population expansion between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, followed by a long-term decline. SMC++ inferred a continuous declin

SUBMITTER: Ito H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12292410 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature