School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, 2035 McCarty hall D, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Calle 16 # 114 Entre 1ra y 3ra Plaza, Havana, Cuba.
Genetica. 2022 Dec;150(6):327-341. doi: 10.1007/s10709-022-00172-8. Epub 2022 Oct 22.
The coastal waters of Cuba are home to a small, endangered population of West Indian manatee, which would benefit from a comprehensive characterization of the population's genetic variation. We conducted the first genetic assessment of Cuban manatees to determine the extent of the population's genetic structure and characterize the neutral genetic diversity among regions within the archipelago. We genotyped 49 manatees at 18 microsatellite loci, a subset of 27 samples on 1703 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and sequenced 59 manatees at the mitochondrial control region. The Cuba manatee population had low nuclear (microsatellites H = 0.44, and SNP H = 0.29) and mitochondrial genetic diversity (h = 0.068 and π = 0.00025), and displayed moderate departures from random mating (microsatellite F = 0.12, SNP F = 0.10). Our results suggest that the western portion of the archipelago undergoes periodic exchange of alleles based on the evidence of shared ancestry and low but significant differentiation. The southeast Guantanamo Bay region and the western portion of the archipelago were more differentiated than southwest and northwest manatees. The genetic distinctiveness observed in the southeast supports its recognition as a demographically independent unit for natural resource management regardless of whether it is due to historical isolation or isolation by distance. Estimates of the regional effective population sizes, with the microsatellite and SNP datasets, were small (all N < 60). Subsequent analyses using additional samples could better examine how the observed structure is masking simple isolation by distance patterns or whether ecological or biogeographic forces shape genetic patterns.
古巴的沿海水域是西印度海牛的一个小而濒危的栖息地，该物种的种群遗传变异需要进行全面的特征描述。我们对古巴海牛进行了首次遗传评估，以确定其种群遗传结构的程度，并描述群岛内各地区的中性遗传多样性。我们在 18 个微卫星基因座上对 49 头海牛进行了基因分型，在 1703 个单核苷酸多态性（SNP）中选择了 27 个样本的一部分进行基因分型，对 59 头海牛进行了线粒体控制区测序。古巴海牛种群的核（微卫星 H = 0.44，SNP H = 0.29）和线粒体遗传多样性较低，且表现出中度的非随机交配（微卫星 F = 0.12，SNP F = 0.10）。我们的结果表明，基于共享祖先和低但显著分化的证据，群岛的西部部分经历了等位基因的周期性交换。关塔那摩湾东南地区和群岛的西部部分比西南和西北的海牛分化更为明显。东南地区观察到的遗传独特性支持将其视为一个独立的、具有独立遗传特征的资源管理单位，无论其是否由于历史隔离还是地理隔离。使用微卫星和 SNP 数据集估计的区域有效种群规模很小（所有 N < 60）。随后使用更多样本的分析可以更好地研究观察到的结构如何掩盖简单的隔离距离模式，或者是否是生态或生物地理因素塑造了遗传模式。
