Genomes of Three Closely Related Caribbean Amazons Provide Insight for Species History and Conservation.

ABSTRACT: Islands have been used as model systems for studies of speciation and extinction since Darwin published his observations about finches found on the Galapagos. Amazon parrots inhabiting the Greater Antillean Islands represent a fascinating model of species diversification. Unfortunately, many of these birds are threatened as a result of human activity and some, like the Puerto Rican parrot, are now critically endangered. In this study we used a combination of de novo and reference-assisted assembly methods, integrating it with information obtained from related genomes to perform genome reconstruction of three amazon species. First, we used whole genome sequencing data to generate a new de novo genome assembly for the Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata). We then improved the obtaine

SUBMITTER: Kolchanova S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6356210 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature