CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
Sci Adv. 2020 Feb 26;6(9):eaax5751. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax5751. eCollection 2020 Feb.
The red panda (), an endangered Himalaya-endemic mammal, has been classified as two subspecies or even two species - the Himalayan red panda () and the Chinese red panda () - based on differences in morphology and biogeography. However, this classification has remained controversial largely due to lack of genetic evidence, directly impairing scientific conservation management. Data from 65 whole genomes, 49 Y-chromosomes, and 49 mitochondrial genomes provide the first comprehensive genetic evidence for species divergence in red pandas, demonstrating substantial inter-species genetic divergence for all three markers and correcting species-distribution boundaries. Combined with morphological evidence, these data thus clearly define two phylogenetic species in red pandas. We also demonstrate different demographic trajectories in the two species: has experienced two population bottlenecks and one large population expansion over time, whereas has experienced three bottlenecks and one very small expansion, resulting in very low genetic diversity, high linkage disequilibrium, and high genetic load.
大熊猫（），一种濒危的喜玛拉雅特有哺乳动物，基于形态学和生物地理学的差异，被分类为两个亚种甚至两个物种——喜马拉雅大熊猫（）和中国大熊猫（）。然而，由于缺乏遗传证据，这种分类仍然存在争议，这直接影响了科学的保护管理。来自 65 个全基因组、49 个 Y 染色体和 49 个线粒体基因组的数据为大熊猫物种分化提供了第一个全面的遗传证据，证明了所有三个标记的种间遗传分化，并纠正了物种分布边界。结合形态学证据，这些数据明确界定了大熊猫中的两个系统发育物种。我们还证明了两个物种的不同人口轨迹：有经历了两个种群瓶颈和一个大的种群扩张随着时间的推移，而有经历了三个瓶颈和一个非常小的扩张，导致非常低的遗传多样性，高连锁不平衡和高遗传负荷。
