Black Andrew N, Mularo Andrew J, Jeon Jong Yoon, Haukos David, Bondo Kristin J, Fricke Kent A, Gregory Andy, Grisham Blake, Lowe Zachary E, DeWoody J Andrew
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Boise, ID 83719, USA.
PNAS Nexus. 2024 Jul 25;3(8):pgae298. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae298. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Population genomics can reveal cryptic biological diversity that may impact fitness while simultaneously serving to delineate relevant conservation units. Here, we leverage the power of whole-genome resequencing for conservation by studying 433 individual lesser prairie-chicken (; LEPC, a federally endangered species of conservation concern in the United States) and greater prairie-chicken (; GRPC, a legally huntable species throughout much of its range). The genomic diversity of two formally recognized distinct population segments (DPSs) of LEPCs is similar, but they are genetically distinct. Neither DPS is depleted of its genomic diversity, neither is especially inbred, and temporal diversity is relatively stable in both conservation units. Interspecific differentiation between the two species was only slightly higher than that observed between LEPC DPSs, due largely to bidirectional introgression. The high resolution provided by our dataset identified a genomic continuum between the two species such that individuals sampled from the hybrid zone were imperfectly assigned to their presumptive species when considering only their physical characteristics. The admixture between the two species is reflected in the spectrum of individual ancestry coefficients, which has legal implications for the "take" of individuals under the Endangered Species Act. Overall, our data highlight the recurring dissonance between static policies and dynamic species boundaries that are increasingly obvious in the population genomic era.
种群基因组学能够揭示可能影响适应性的隐性生物多样性，同时有助于划定相关的保护单元。在此，我们通过研究433只小草原榛鸡（Tympanuchus pallidicinctus；LEPC，美国一种受到联邦保护的濒危物种）和大草原榛鸡（Tympanuchus cupido；GRPC，在其大部分分布范围内为合法可狩猎物种），利用全基因组重测序的力量来进行保护研究。LEPC两个正式认可的不同种群片段（DPSs）的基因组多样性相似，但它们在遗传上是有区别的。两个DPSs的基因组多样性都没有耗尽，都没有特别严重的近亲繁殖现象，并且在这两个保护单元中，时间上的多样性都相对稳定。这两个物种之间的种间分化仅略高于LEPC DPSs之间的分化，这主要是由于双向基因渗入造成的。我们的数据集所提供的高分辨率确定了这两个物种之间的一个基因组连续体，以至于当仅考虑其物理特征时，从杂交区采样的个体被不完全地归为其假定的物种。两个物种之间的混合反映在个体祖先系数谱中，这对于《濒危物种法》下个体的“捕获”具有法律意义。总体而言，我们的数据突出了在种群基因组时代日益明显的静态政策与动态物种边界之间反复出现的不一致。
