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

Abstract

In this study we assessed the level of genetic introgression between red foxes bred on fur farms in Poland and the native wild population. We also evaluated the impact of a geographic barrier and isolation by distance on gene flow between two isolated subpopulations of the native red fox and their genetic differentiation. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA was collected from a total of 308 individuals (200 farm and 108 wild red foxes) to study non-native allele flow from farm into wild red fox populations. Genetic structure analyses performed using 24 autosomal microsatellites showed two genetic clusters as being the most probable number of distinct populations. No strong admixture signals between farm and wild red foxes were detected, and significant genetic differentiation was identified between the two groups. This was also apparent from the mtDNA analysis. None of the concatenated haplotypes detected in farm foxes was found in wild animals. The consequence of this was that the haplotype network displayed two genetically distinct groups: farm foxes were completely separated from native ones. Neither the River Vistula nor isolation by distance had a significant impact on gene flow between the separated wild red fox subpopulations. The results of our research indicate a low probability of genetic introgression between farm and native red foxes, and no threat to the genetic integrity of this species.

Genetic Variability and Population Structure of the Tunisian Sicilo-Sarde Dairy Sheep Breed Inferred from Microsatellites Analysis

“…Microsatellite markers still remain an appropriate tool for first-stage exploration of the genetic diversity and the population structure of sheep [ 40 ] and animal populations [ 41 ]. The allelic diversity of the two dairy breed populations SS B and SS M was studied in terms of MNA, AR and P AR , as summarized in Table 2 .…”

Consequences of Hybridization in Mammals: A Systematic Review

“…Domesticated mammals are not separated from their wild ancestors by strong reproductive barriers, and therefore they are likely to cross-breed in regions where their ranges overlap. Introgression of domesticated species’ alleles to wild species’ gene pool may threaten the genetic integrity of wild species [ 154 ], and therefore it is typically considered as a negative process. However, such introgression may increase the genetic variability in wild species suffering the effects of a severe bottleneck, and/or accelerate the process of adaptation to changing environmental conditions by providing novel genetic variation [ 155 ].…”

“…This category includes studies that have not found any signs of hybridization in the populations studied or found only very limited evidence e.g., [ 154 , 208 , 209 , 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 , 214 , 215 ]. We found 24 studies that fitted this category.…”