Admixture analyses and phylogeographic relationships reveal complete genetic distinctiveness of Polish farm and wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and the North American origin of farm‐bred individuals

Abstract

A number of studies showed that many mtDNA haplotypes were shared among contemporary farm red foxes bred on different continents and the historical wild red foxes of North American origin. Therefore, in this study, the population genetic structure and phylogeographic relationships of Polish red foxes kept on fur farms and their wild conspecifics were investigated to assess the ancestry of the farm red foxes in Poland. A total of 330 tissue samples (200 from farm foxes and 130 from wild foxes) were used for the genetic analyses. Thirty microsatellite loci and two regions of mtDNA were used to assess the level of admixture between farm‐ and wild red foxes, to construct haplotype networks and create a phylogenetic tree. The genetic structure analysis clearly indicated two genetic clusters as being the most probable number of genetically distinct populations. The fixation index revealed a significant genetic distance between the farm‐ and wild red fox populations (FST = 0.27, p < 0.05). Haplotype networks based on frequencies showing relationships between concatenated haplotypes of Polish farm‐ and wild red foxes and the constructed phylogenetic tree clearly indicated two genetically distinct groups. The results of this study provide strong evidence confirming the North American origin of red foxes bred on Polish farms and the genetic distinctiveness of both studied populations.

Bayesian analysis of genetic and environmental effects on litter traits in a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) herd under long‐term selection

“…The lack of significant “import” effects indicates a relatively high degree of similarity of the world population of red foxes. This finding is in line with the results of the phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies conducted by Zatoń‐Dobrowolska et al (2019). They showed the North American origin of the Polish red fox population kept on fur farms.…”

Insight into the Genetic Population Structure of Wild Red Foxes in Poland Reveals Low Risk of Genetic Introgression from Escaped Farm Red Foxes

“…In our previous research [ 41 ], we identified 23 concatenated haplotypes in wild foxes and 8 concatenated haplotypes in farm foxes (which were reused in the present study). In this study, of the 23 concatenated haplotypes previously reported, we detected 20 (the missing haplotypes were: 3-P02, FOX22-FOX44 and KHARKIV10-RS56).…”

“…The PCR mixtures were prepared using a DreamTaq Master Mix kit (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. A new set of primers for both sequences, designed by the authors of this study, as well as the thermal cycle conditions for both markers were described by Zatoń-Dobrowolska et al [ 41 ]. The mtDNA sequences (the newly detected ones were submitted to GeneBank) used in this study were previously tested by Zatoń-Dobrowolska et al [ 41 ].…”