Contemporary and historical selection in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) support novel, polygenic response to transmissible cancer.

ABSTRACT: Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are evolving in response to a unique transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), first described in 1996. Persistence of wild populations and the recent emergence of a second independently evolved transmissible cancer suggest that transmissible cancers may be a recurrent feature in devils. Here, we compared signatures of selection across temporal scales to determine whether genes or gene pathways under contemporary selection (six to eight generations) have also been subject to historical selection (65-85 Myr). First, we used targeted sequencing, RAD-capture, in approximately 2500 devils in six populations to identify genomic regions subject to rapid evolution. We documented genome-wide contemporary evolution, including 186 candid

SUBMITTER: Stahlke AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8150010 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature