Pronounced genetic structure and low genetic diversity in European red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) populations

Wenzel, Marius; Webster, Lucy M.I.; Blanco, Guillermo; Burgess, Malcolm D.; Kerbiriou, Christian; Segelbacher, Gernot; Piertney, Stuart B.; Reid, Jane M.

doi:10.1007/s10592-012-0366-6

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 103 publications

(133 reference statements)

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“…This is in sharp contrast with the low diversity reported for chough populations in the British Isles, which are the result of postglacial colonization from southern latitudes accentuated by the isolation of small populations (Wenzel et al . ). Overall nuclear genetic diversity of Iberian choughs is also higher than values reported for corvid species with low genetic differentiation patterns, the Clark's Nutcracker ( Nucifraga columbiana ), and fine‐scale genetic structure, the New Caledonian crows ( Corvus moneduloides ; Abdelkrim et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Extreme genetic structure in a social bird species despite high dispersal capacity

et al. 2017

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Social barriers have been shown to reduce gene flow and contribute to genetic structure among populations in species with high cognitive capacity and complex societies, such as cetaceans, apes and humans. In birds, high dispersal capacity is thought to prevent population divergence unless major geographical or habitat barriers induce isolation patterns by dispersal, colonization or adaptation limitation. We report that Iberian populations of the red-billed chough, a social, gregarious corvid with high dispersal capacity, show a striking degree of genetic structure composed of at least 15 distinct genetic units. Monitoring of marked individuals over 30 years revealed that long-distance movements over hundreds of kilometres are common, yet recruitment into breeding populations is infrequent and highly philopatric. Genetic differentiation is weakly related to geographical distance, and habitat types used are overall qualitatively similar among regions and regularly shared by individuals of different populations, so that genetic structure is unlikely to be due solely to isolation by distance or isolation by adaptation. Moreover, most population nuclei showed relatively high levels of genetic diversity, suggesting a limited role for genetic drift in significantly differentiating populations. We propose that social mechanisms may underlie this unprecedented level of genetic structure in birds through a pattern of isolation by social barriers not yet described, which may have driven this remarkable population divergence in the absence of geographical and environmental barriers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Extreme genetic structure in a social bird species despite high dispersal capacity

et al. 2017

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“…PCR-based sex determination using a gonosome-linked locus (Griffiths et al. 1998) was performed as described in Wenzel et al . (2012).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine‐scale population epigenetic structure in relation to gastrointestinal parasite load in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)

Wenzel

Piertney

2014

Molecular Ecology

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Epigenetic modification of cytosine methylation states can be elicited by environmental stresses and may be a key process affecting phenotypic plasticity and adaptation. Parasites are potent stressors with profound physiological and ecological effects on their host, but there is little understanding in how parasites may influence host methylation states. Here, we estimate epigenetic diversity and differentiation among 21 populations of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) in north-east Scotland and test for association of gastrointestinal parasite load (caecal nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis) with hepatic genome-wide and locus-specific methylation states. Following methylation-sensitive AFLP (MSAP), 129 bands, representing 73 methylation-susceptible and 56 nonmethylated epiloci, were scored across 234 individuals. The populations differed significantly in genome-wide methylation levels and were also significantly epigenetically (FSC = 0.0227; P < 0.001) and genetically (FSC = 0.0058; P < 0.001) differentiated. Parasite load was not associated with either genome-wide methylation levels or epigenetic differentiation. Instead, we found eight disproportionately differentiated epilocus-specific methylation states (FST outliers) using bayescan software and significant positive and negative association of 35 methylation states with parasite load from bespoke generalized estimating equations (GEE), simple logistic regression (sam) and Bayesian environmental analysis (bayenv2). Following Sanger sequencing, genome mapping and geneontology (go) annotation, some of these epiloci were linked to genes involved in regulation of cell cycle, signalling, metabolism, immune system and notably rRNA methylation, histone acetylation and small RNAs. These findings demonstrate an epigenetic signature of parasite load in populations of a wild bird and suggest intriguing physiological effects of parasite-associated cytosine methylation.

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“…) as described in Wenzel et al . (). All individuals were genotyped at 384 red grouse specific SNPs covering almost the entire chicken genome (Wenzel et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The role of parasite‐driven selection in shaping landscape genomic structure in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)

et al. 2015

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Landscape genomics promises to provide novel insights into how neutral and adaptive processes shape genome-wide variation within and among populations. However, there has been little emphasis on examining whether individual-based phenotype-genotype relationships derived from approaches such as genome-wide association (GWAS) manifest themselves as a population-level signature of selection in a landscape context. The two may prove irreconcilable as individual-level patterns become diluted by high levels of gene flow and complex phenotypic or environmental heterogeneity. We illustrate this issue with a case study that examines the role of the highly prevalent gastrointestinal nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis in shaping genomic signatures of selection in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica). Individual-level GWAS involving 384 SNPs has previously identified five SNPs that explain variation in T. tenuis burden. Here, we examine whether these same SNPs display population-level relationships between T. tenuis burden and genetic structure across a small-scale landscape of 21 sites with heterogeneous parasite pressure. Moreover, we identify adaptive SNPs showing signatures of directional selection using F(ST) outlier analysis and relate population- and individual-level patterns of multilocus neutral and adaptive genetic structure to T. tenuis burden. The five candidate SNPs for parasite-driven selection were neither associated with T. tenuis burden on a population level, nor under directional selection. Similarly, there was no evidence of parasite-driven selection in SNPs identified as candidates for directional selection. We discuss these results in the context of red grouse ecology and highlight the broader consequences for the utility of landscape genomics approaches for identifying signatures of selection.

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Pronounced genetic structure and low genetic diversity in European red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) populations

Cited by 25 publications

References 103 publications

Extreme genetic structure in a social bird species despite high dispersal capacity

Extreme genetic structure in a social bird species despite high dispersal capacity

Fine‐scale population epigenetic structure in relation to gastrointestinal parasite load in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)

The role of parasite‐driven selection in shaping landscape genomic structure in red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)

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