Genomic signatures of extensive inbreeding in Isle Royale wolves, a population on the threshold of extinction.

ABSTRACT: The observation that small isolated populations often suffer reduced fitness from inbreeding depression has guided conservation theory and practice for decades. However, investigating the genome-wide dynamics associated with inbreeding depression in natural populations is only now feasible with relatively inexpensive sequencing technology and annotated reference genomes. To characterize the genome-wide effects of intense inbreeding and isolation, we performed whole-genome sequencing and morphological analysis of an iconic inbred population, the gray wolves (Canis lupus) of Isle Royale. Through population genetic simulations and comparison with wolf genomes from a variety of demographic histories, we find evidence that severe inbreeding depression in this population is due to increas

SUBMITTER: Robinson JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6541468 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature