West George, Pointer Michael, Nash Will, Lewis Rebecca, Gage Matt J G, Richardson David S
University of East Anglia School of Biological Sciences, Norwich, UK.
Natural History Museum, London, England, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2025 Jan;292(2039):20242374. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.2374. Epub 2025 Jan 29.
Globally, many species are threatened by population decline because of anthropogenic changes leading to population fragmentation, genetic isolation and inbreeding depression. Genetic rescue, the controlled introduction of genetic variation, is a method used to relieve such effects in small populations. However, without understanding how the characteristics of rescuers impact rescue attempts interventions run the risk of being sub-optimal, or even counterproductive. We use the red flour beetle () to test the impact of rescuer sex, and sexual selection background, on population productivity. We record the impact of genetic rescue on population productivity in 24 and 36 replicated populations for ten generations following intervention. We find little or no impact of rescuer sex on the efficacy of rescue but show that a background of elevated sexual selection makes individuals more effective rescuers. In both experiments, rescue effects diminish 6-10 generations after the rescue. Our results confirm that the efficacy of genetic rescue can be influenced by characteristics of the rescuers and that the level of sexual selection in the rescuing population is an important factor. We show that any increase in fitness associated with rescue may last for a limited number of generations, suggesting implications for conservation policy and practice.
在全球范围内，许多物种因人为变化导致种群碎片化、基因隔离和近交衰退而面临种群数量下降的威胁。基因拯救，即有控制地引入基因变异，是一种用于缓解小种群中此类影响的方法。然而，如果不了解拯救者的特征如何影响拯救尝试，干预措施可能会达不到最佳效果，甚至适得其反。我们利用赤拟谷盗来测试拯救者的性别以及性选择背景对种群生产力的影响。在干预后的十代中，我们记录了基因拯救对24个和36个重复种群的种群生产力的影响。我们发现拯救者的性别对拯救效果影响很小或没有影响，但表明性选择增强的背景会使个体成为更有效的拯救者。在两个实验中，拯救效果在拯救后的6至10代后减弱。我们的结果证实，基因拯救的效果可能会受到拯救者特征的影响，并且拯救种群中的性选择水平是一个重要因素。我们表明，与拯救相关的任何适应性增加可能只会持续有限的几代，这对保护政策和实践具有启示意义。
