Admixture Increases Genetic Diversity and Adaptive Potential in Australasian Killer Whales.

ABSTRACT: Admixture is the exchange of genetic variation between differentiated demes, resulting in ancestry within a population coalescing in multiple ancestral source populations. Low-latitude killer whales (Orcinus orca) populations typically have higher genetic diversity than those in more densely populated, high productivity and high-latitude regions. This has been hypothesized to be due to episodic admixture between populations with distinct genetic backgrounds. We test this hypothesis by estimating variation in local ancestry of whole genome sequences from three genetically differentiated, low-latitude killer whale populations and comparing them to global genetic variation. We find 'Antarctic-like' ancestry tracts in the genomes of southwestern Australia (SWA) population including recent (wit

SUBMITTER: Reeves IM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12684329 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature