Blue Turns to Gray: Paleogenomic Insights into the Evolutionary History and Extinction of the Blue Antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus).

ABSTRACT: The blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) is the only large African mammal species to have become extinct in historical times, yet no nuclear genomic information is available for this species. A recent study showed that many alleged blue antelope museum specimens are either roan (Hippotragus equinus) or sable (Hippotragus niger) antelopes, further reducing the possibilities for obtaining genomic information for this extinct species. While the blue antelope has a rich fossil record from South Africa, climatic conditions in the region are generally unfavorable to the preservation of ancient DNA. Nevertheless, we recovered two blue antelope draft genomes, one at 3.4× mean coverage from a historical specimen (∼200 years old) and one at 2.1× mean coverage from a fossil specimen dating to 9,80

SUBMITTER: Hempel E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9750129 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature