Genomic Consequences of Long-Term Population Decline in Brown Eared Pheasant.

ABSTRACT: Population genetic theory and empirical evidence indicate that deleterious alleles can be purged in small populations. However, this viewpoint remains controversial. It is unclear whether natural selection is powerful enough to purge deleterious mutations when wild populations continue to decline. Pheasants are terrestrial birds facing a long-term risk of extinction as a result of anthropogenic perturbations and exploitation. Nevertheless, there are scant genomics resources available for conservation management and planning. Here, we analyzed comparative population genomic data for the three extant isolated populations of Brown eared pheasant (Crossoptilon mantchuricum) in China. We showed that C. mantchuricum has low genome-wide diversity and a contracting effective population size becaus

SUBMITTER: Wang P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7783171 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature