Genomic consequences of a recent three-way admixture in supplemented wild brown trout populations revealed by local ancestry tracts

simRestore: A decision-making tool for adaptive management of the native genetic status of wild populations

Anthropogenic hybridization, or higher and non-natural rates of gene flow directly and indirectly induced by human activities, is considered a significant threat to biodiversity. The primary concern for conservation is the potential for genomic extinction and loss of adaptiveness for native species due to the extensive introgression of non-native genes. To alleviate or reverse trends for such scenarios requires the direct integration of genomic data within a model framework for effective management. Towards this end, we developed the simRestore R program as a decision-making tool that integrates ecological and genomic information to simulate ancestry outcomes from optimized conservation strategies. In short, the program optimizes supplementation and removal strategies across generations until a set native genetic threshold is reached within the studied population. Importantly, in addition to helping with initial decision-making, simulations can be updated with the outcomes of ongoing efforts, allowing for the adaptive management of populations. After demonstrating functionality, we apply and optimize among actionable management strategies for the endangered Hawaiian duck for which the current primary threat is genetic extinction through ongoing anthropogenic hybridization with feral mallards. Simulations demonstrate that supplemental and removal efforts can be strategically tailored to move the genetic ancestry of Hawaii's hybrid populations towards Hawaiian duck without the need to completely start over. Further, we discuss ecological parameter sensitivity, including which factors are most important to ensure genetic outcomes (i.e. number of offspring). Finally, to facilitate use, the program is also available online as a Shiny Web application.

The meaning of wild: Genetic and adaptive consequences from large-scale releases of domestic mallards

The translocation of individuals around the world is leading to rising incidences of anthropogenic hybridization, particularly between domestic and wild congeners. We apply a landscape genomics approach for thousands of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) samples across continental and island populations to determine the result of over a century of supplementation practices. We establish that a single domestic game-farm mallard breed is the source for contemporary release programs in Eurasia and North America, as well as for established feral populations in New Zealand and Hawaii. In particular, we identify central Europe and eastern North America as epicenters of ongoing anthropogenic hybridization, and conclude that the release of game-farm mallards continues to affect the genetic integrity of wild mallards. Conversely, self-sustaining feral populations in New Zealand and Hawaii not only show strong differentiation from their original stock, but also signatures of local adaptation occurring in less than a half-century since game-farm mallard releases have ceased. We conclude that 'wild' is not singular, and that even feral populations are capable of responding to natural processes. Although considered paradoxical to biological conservation, understanding the capacity for wildness among feral and feral admixed populations in human landscapes is critical as such interactions increase in the Anthropocene.

Regional environmental and climatic concerns on preserving native gene pools of a least concern species: Brown trout lineages in Mediterranean streams

The European brown trout, Salmo trutta, is a cold-adapted fish reported as a Least Concern species in the IUCN Red List. This species colonized new territories from southern refuges during the last glacial melting, but during the 20th century suffered from anthropic impacts on its habitats. The long-time survival of the species relies on the genetic diversity within and among populations. Brown trout is among the genetically most diverse vertebrate species; however, native populations in Mediterranean rivers have dramatically suffered of introgressive hybridization from extensive releases of evolutionary distant non-native Atlantic stocks. In addition, in Mediterranean rivers climate change will result in unsuitable conditions for the species during the 21st century. Using brown trout populations at the headstreams of a Pyrenean river as a model, this paper revised how hatchery releases have affected the native gene pools and how environmental and climatic variables controlled the amount of local introgression at intra-basin level. Introgressive hybridization was detected in all studied sites. Ten times larger divergence was observed among populations at tributaries than among populations along the main stem. A highly impacted population distributed in a long transect in the main stem suggested that hatchery fish move towards the main stem wherever released. From already highly impacted populations and despite the cessation of hatchery releases, warmer temperatures and lower precipitation expected from climate change will extend the introgressive hybridization along the basin, contributing to the extinction of the native gene pools. Based on available morphological distinction of native, hatchery and hybrid brown trout, we advocate the involvement of regional social groups (e.g. riverside dwellers, anglers, conservationists, hikers) in citizen science programs to detect the spread of non-native phenotypes along the rivers. These are cheap and fast methods to collaborate with fishery managers in the preservation and recovery of the regional native populations.

Redundancy analysis, genome-wide association studies and the pigmentation of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.)

The association of molecular variants with phenotypic variation is a main issue in biology, often tackled with genome-wide association studies (GWAS). GWAS are challenging, with increasing, but still limited, use in evolutionary biology. We used redundancy analysis (RDA) as a complimentary ordination approach to single- and multitrait GWAS to explore the molecular basis of pigmentation variation in brown trout (Salmo trutta) belonging to wild populations impacted by hatchery fish. Based on 75,684 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers, RDA, single- and multitrait GWAS allowed the extraction of 337 independent colour patterning loci (CPLs) associated with trout pigmentation traits, such as the number of red and black spots on flanks. Collectively, these CPLs (i) mapped onto 35 out of 40 brown trout linkage groups indicating a polygenic genomic architecture of pigmentation, (ii) were found to be associated with 218 candidate genes, including 197 genes formerly mentioned in the literature associated to skin pigmentation, skin patterning, differentiation or structure notably in a close relative, the rainbow trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss), and (iii) related to functions relevant to pigmentation variation (e.g., calcium- and ion-binding, cell adhesion). Annotated CPLs include genes with well-known pigmentation effects (e.g., PMEL, SLC45A2, SOX10), but also markers associated with genes formerly found expressed in rainbow or brown trout skins. RDA was also shown to be useful to investigate management issues, especially the dynamics of trout pigmentation submitted to several generations of hatchery introgression.

Genomes of endangered great hammerhead and shortfin mako sharks reveal historic population declines and high levels of inbreeding in great hammerhead

Despite increasing threats of extinction to Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays), whole genome-based conservation insights are lacking. Here, we present chromosome-level genome assemblies for the Critically Endangered great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) and the Endangered shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) sharks, with genetic diversity and historical demographic comparisons to other shark species. The great hammerhead exhibited low genetic variation, with 8.7% of the 2.77 Gbp genome in runs of homozygosity (ROH) > 1 Mbp and 74.4% in ROH >100 kbp. The 4.98 Gbp shortfin mako genome had considerably greater diversity and <1% in ROH > 1 Mbp. Both these sharks experienced precipitous declines in effective population size (Ne) over the last 250 thousand years. While shortfin mako exhibited a large historical Ne that may have enabled the retention of higher genetic variation, the genomic data suggest a possibly more concerning picture for the great hammerhead, and a need for evaluation with additional individuals.

Genomic evidence of recent European introgression into North American farmed and wild Atlantic Salmon

Gene flow between wild and domestic populations has been repeatedly demonstrated across a diverse range of taxa. Ultimately, the genetic impacts of gene flow from domestic into wild populations depend both on the degree of domestication and the original source of the domesticated population. Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, used in North American aquaculture are ostensibly of North American origin. However, evidence of European introgression into North American aquaculture salmon has accumulated in recent decades, even though the use of diploid European salmon has never been approved in Canada. The full extent of such introgression as well as the potential impacts on wild salmon in the Northwest Atlantic remains uncertain. Here, we extend previous work comparing North American and European wild salmon (n = 5799) using a 220 K SNP array to quantify levels of recent European introgression into samples of domestic salmon, aquaculture escapees, and wild salmon collected throughout Atlantic Canada. Analysis of North American farmed salmon (n = 403) and escapees (n = 289) displayed significantly elevated levels of European ancestry by comparison with wild individuals (p < 0.001). Of North American farmed salmon sampled between 2011 and 2018, ~17% had more than 10% European ancestry and several individuals exceeded 40% European ancestry. Samples of escaped farmed salmon similarly displayed elevated levels of European ancestry, with two individuals classified as 100% European. Analysis of juvenile salmon collected in rivers proximate to aquaculture locations also revealed evidence of elevated European ancestry and larger admixture tract in comparison to individuals collected at distance from aquaculture. Overall, our results demonstrate that even though diploid European salmon have never been approved for use in Canada, individuals of full and partial European ancestry have been in use over the last decade, and that some of these individuals have escaped and hybridized in the wild.

Chromosome-Level Haplotype Assembly for Equus asinu

Background: Haplotype provides significant insights into understanding genomes at both individual and population levels. However, research on many non-model organisms is still based on independent genetic variations due to the lack of haplotype.

Results: We conducted haplotype assembling for Equus asinu, a non-model organism that plays a vital role in human civilization. We described the hybrid single individual assembled haplotype of the Dezhou donkey based on the high-depth sequencing data from single-molecule real-time sequencing (×30), Illumina short-read sequencing (×211), and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (×56). We assembled a near-complete haplotype for the high-depth sequenced Dezhou donkey individual and a phased cohort for the resequencing data of the donkey population.

Conclusion: Here, we described the complete chromosome-scale haplotype of the Dezhou donkey with more than a 99.7% phase rate. We further phased a cohort of 156 donkeys to form a donkey haplotype dataset with more than 39 million genetic variations.

Sex-Specific Life History Affected by Stocking in Juvenile Brown Trout

Salmonids are a socioeconomically and ecologically important group of fish that are often managed by stocking. Little is known about potential sex-specific effects of stocking, but recent studies found that the sexes differ in their stress tolerances already at late embryonic stage, i.e., before hatchery-born larvae are released into the wild and long before morphological gonad formation. It has also been speculated that sex-specific life histories can affect juvenile growth and mortality, and that a resulting sex-biassed demography can reduce population growth. Here we test whether juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta) show sex-specific life histories and whether such sex effects differ in hatchery- and wild-born fish. We modified a genetic sexing protocol to reduce false assignment rates and used it to study the timing of sex differentiation in a laboratory setting, and in a large-scale field experiment to study growth and mortality of hatchery- and wild-born fish in different environments. We found no sex-specific mortality in any of the environments we studied. However, females started sex differentiation earlier than males, and while growth rates were similar in the laboratory, they differed significantly in the field depending on location and origin of fish. Overall, hatchery-born males grew larger than hatchery-born females while wild-born fish showed the reverse pattern. Whether males or females grew larger was location-specific. We conclude that juvenile brown trout show sex-specific growth that is affected by stocking and by other environmental factors that remain to be identified.

Genetic and Phenotypic Characteristics of the Salmo trutta Complex in Italy

Salmonid fish have become ecological and research models of study in the field of conservation genetics and genomics. Over the last decade, brown trout have received a high level of interest in research and publications. The term Salmo trutta complex is used to indicate the large number of geographic forms present in the species Salmo trutta. In Europe, the S. trutta complex consists (based on mitochondrial DNA control region analysis) of seven major evolutionary lineages: Atlantic (AT), Mediterranean (ME), Adriatic (AD), Danubian (DA), Marmoratus (MA), Duero (DU) and Tigris (TI). In several nations, the difficulty of identifying some lineages derives from their wide phenotypic and geographic plasticity and the presence of mixed lineages (due to introgressive hybridization with domestic AT populations). In Italy, the S. trutta complex populations living in the Tyrrhenian area and on the main islands (Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica) showed high genetic diversity. Currently, on the Italian Red List, the protected (near threatened) populations are the AD and ME lineages. Recent studies based on traditional (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) and NGS (next-generation sequencing) analyses have clarified some genetic differences between the populations of the Tyrrhenian region, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Native populations in Sardinia belong to the AD lineage, while those living in Corsica are mainly characterized by the AD, MA and ME haplotypes. In Sicily, in the area of the Iblei mountains, an AT lineage (North African) exists. According to some authors, the term Salmo macrostigma should only be used for populations in North Africa. The use of genotyping methods based on mtDNA and nuclear markers and the latest generation sequencing techniques can improve the study of populations and evolutionary lineages in areas where there are overlaps and hybridization phenomena.

ddRAD-seq reveals the genetic structure and detects signals of selection in Italian brown trout

Background

Brown trout is one of the most widespread fresh-water fish species in Europe. The evolutionary history of and phylogenetic relationships between brown trout populations are complex, and this is especially true for Italian populations, which are heavily influenced in different ways by stocking practices. The characterization of the genetic structure of Italian brown trout populations may give information on the risk of losing endemic Italian populations due to lack of genetic diversity or to admixture with stocking populations. The identification of signatures of selection, and the information deriving from dense genotyping data will help genotype-informed breeding programs. We used a ddRAD-seq approach to obtain more than 100,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and to characterize the population structure and signatures of selection in 90 brown trout samples.

Results

Italian brown trout populations are genetically differentiated, although the stocking practices have introduced strong admixture in endemic Italian trout, especially with the Atlantic lineage. Most of the analysed populations showed high levels of kinship and inbreeding. We detected putative signatures of selection using different approaches, and investigated if the regions were enriched for functional categories. Several regions putatively under selection and characterized by a reduction in heterozygosity across all the studied populations are enriched for genes involved in the response to viral infections.

Conclusions

Our results, which show evidence of admixture with the Atlantic lineage (commonly used for stocking), confirm the need for controlling stocking practices, in order to avoid the erosion of the endemic gene pool; given the apparently high levels of kinship and inbreeding in local populations, our results also show the need to take action for increasing gene diversity. In addition, we used the genetically-distinct lineages to detect signatures of selection and we identified putative signatures of selection in several regions associated with resistance to infectious diseases. These constitute candidate regions for the study of resistance to infections in wild and farmed trout.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12711-022-00698-7.

Genomic Hatchery Introgression in Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L.): Development of a Diagnostic SNP Panel for Monitoring the Impacted Mediterranean Rivers

Brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) populations have been restocked during recent decades to satisfy angling demand and counterbalance the decline of wild populations. Millions of fertile brown trout individuals were released into Mediterranean and Atlantic rivers from hatcheries with homogeneous central European stocks. Consequently, many native gene pools have become endangered by introgressive hybridization with those hatchery stocks. Different genetic tools have been used to identify and evaluate the degree of introgression starting from pure native and restocking reference populations (e.g., LDH-C* locus, microsatellites). However, due to the high genetic structuring of brown trout, the definition of the "native pool" is hard to achieve. Additionally, although the LDH-C* locus is useful for determining the introgression degree at the population level, its consistency at individual level is far from being accurate, especially after several generations were since releases. Accordingly, the development of a more powerful and cost-effective tool is essential for an appropriate monitoring to recover brown-trout-native gene pools. Here, we used the 2b restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (2b-RADseq) and Stacks 2 with a reference genome to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) diagnostic for hatchery-native fish discrimination in the Atlantic and Mediterranean drainages of the Iberian Peninsula. A final set of 20 SNPs was validated in a MassARRAY® System genotyping by contrasting data with the whole SNP dataset using samples with different degree of introgression from those previously recorded. Heterogeneous introgression impact was confirmed among and within river basins, and was the highest in the Mediterranean Slope. The SNP tool reported here should be assessed in a broader sample scenario in Southern Europe considering its potential for monitoring recovery plans.

Whole-genome resequencing confirms reproductive isolation between sympatric demes of brown trout (Salmo trutta) detected with allozymes

The sympatric existence of genetically distinguishable populations of the same species remains a puzzle in ecology. Coexisting salmonid fish populations are known from over 100 freshwater lakes. Most studies of sympatric populations have used limited numbers of genetic markers making it unclear if genetic divergence involves certain parts of the genome. We returned to the first reported case of salmonid sympatry, initially detected through contrasting homozygosity at a single allozyme locus (coding for lactate dehydrogenase A) in brown trout in the small Lakes Bunnersjöarna, Sweden. First, we verified the existence of the two coexisting demes using a 96-SNP fluidigm array. We then applied whole-genome resequencing of pooled DNA to explore genome-wide diversity within and between these demes; nucleotide diversity was higher in deme I than in deme II. Strong genetic divergence is observed with genome-wide F_ST  ≈ 0.2. Compared with data from populations of similar small lakes, this divergence is of similar magnitude as that between reproductively isolated populations. Individual whole-genome resequencing of two individuals per deme suggests higher inbreeding in deme II versus deme I, indicating different degree of isolation. We located two gene-copies for LDH-A and found divergence between demes in a regulatory section of one of these genes. However, we did not find a perfect fit between the sequence data and previous allozyme results, and this will require further research. Our data demonstrates genome-wide divergence governed mostly by genetic drift but also by diversifying selection in coexisting populations. This type of hidden biodiversity needs consideration in conservation management.

Demographic history shapes genomic ancestry in hybrid zones

Demographic factors such as migration rate and population size can impede or facilitate speciation. In hybrid zones, reproductive boundaries between species are tested and demography mediates the opportunity for admixture between lineages that are partially isolated. Genomic ancestry is a powerful tool for revealing the history of admixed populations, but models and methods based on local ancestry are rarely applied to structured hybrid zones. To understand the effects of demography on ancestry in hybrids zones, we performed individual-based simulations under a stepping-stone model, treating migration rate, deme size, and hybrid zone age as parameters. We find that the number of ancestry junctions (the transition points between genomic regions with different ancestries) and heterogenicity (the genomic proportion heterozygous for ancestry) are often closely connected to demographic history. Reducing deme size reduces junction number and heterogenicity. Elevating migration rate increases heterogenicity, but migration affects junction number in more complex ways. We highlight the junction frequency spectrum as a novel and informative summary of ancestry that responds to demographic history. A substantial proportion of junctions are expected to fix when migration is limited or deme size is small, changing the shape of the spectrum. Our findings suggest that genomic patterns of ancestry could be used to infer demographic history in hybrid zones.

Associative Overdominance and Negative Epistasis Shape Genome-Wide Ancestry Landscape in Supplemented Fish Populations

The interplay between recombination rate, genetic drift and selection modulates variation in genome-wide ancestry. Understanding the selective processes at play is of prime importance toward predicting potential beneficial or negative effects of supplementation with domestic strains (i.e., human-introduced strains). In a system of lacustrine populations supplemented with a single domestic strain, we documented how population genetic diversity and stocking intensity produced lake-specific patterns of domestic ancestry by taking the species’ local recombination rate into consideration. We used 552 Brook Charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) from 22 small lacustrine populations, genotyped at ~32,400 mapped SNPs. We observed highly variable patterns of domestic ancestry between each of the 22 populations without any consistency in introgression patterns of the domestic ancestry. Our results suggest that such lake-specific ancestry patterns were mainly due to variable associative overdominance (AOD) effects among populations (i.e., potential positive effects due to the masking of possible deleterious alleles in low recombining regions). Signatures of AOD effects were also emphasized by highly variable patterns of genetic diversity among and within lakes, potentially driven by predominant genetic drift in those small isolated populations. Local negative effects such as negative epistasis (i.e., potential genetic incompatibilities between the native and the introduced population) potentially reflecting precursory signs of outbreeding depression were also observed at a chromosomal scale. Consequently, in order to improve conservation practices and management strategies, it became necessary to assess the consequences of supplementation at the population level by taking into account both genetic diversity and stocking intensity when available.

Population genomics for wildlife conservation and management

Biodiversity is under threat worldwide. Over the past decade, the field of population genomics has developed across nonmodel organisms, and the results of this research have begun to be applied in conservation and management of wildlife species. Genomics tools can provide precise estimates of basic features of wildlife populations, such as effective population size, inbreeding, demographic history and population structure, that are critical for conservation efforts. Moreover, population genomics studies can identify particular genetic loci and variants responsible for inbreeding depression or adaptation to changing environments, allowing for conservation efforts to estimate the capacity of populations to evolve and adapt in response to environmental change and to manage for adaptive variation. While connections from basic research to applied wildlife conservation have been slow to develop, these connections are increasingly strengthening. Here we review the primary areas in which population genomics approaches can be applied to wildlife conservation and management, highlight examples of how they have been used, and provide recommendations for building on the progress that has been made in this field.

Mapping of Adaptive Traits Enabled by a High-Density Linkage Map for Lake Trout

Understanding the genomic basis of adaptative intraspecific phenotypic variation is a central goal in conservation genetics and evolutionary biology. Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are an excellent species for addressing the genetic basis for adaptive variation because they express a striking degree of ecophenotypic variation across their range; however, necessary genomic resources are lacking. Here we utilize recently-developed analytical methods and sequencing technologies to (1) construct a high-density linkage and centromere map for lake trout, (2) identify loci underlying variation in traits that differentiate lake trout ecophenotypes and populations, (3) determine the location of the lake trout sex determination locus, and (4) identify chromosomal homologies between lake trout and other salmonids of varying divergence. The resulting linkage map contains 15,740 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) mapped to 42 linkage groups, likely representing the 42 lake trout chromosomes. Female and male linkage group lengths ranged from 43.07 to 134.64 centimorgans, and 1.97 to 92.87 centimorgans, respectively. We improved the map by determining coordinates for 41 of 42 centromeres, resulting in a map with 8 metacentric chromosomes and 34 acrocentric or telocentric chromosomes. We use the map to localize the sex determination locus and multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with intraspecific phenotypic divergence including traits related to growth and body condition, patterns of skin pigmentation, and two composite geomorphometric variables quantifying body shape. Two QTL for the presence of vermiculations and spots mapped with high certainty to an arm of linkage group Sna3, growth related traits mapped to two QTL on linkage groups Sna1 and Sna12, and putative body shape QTL were detected on six separate linkage groups. The sex determination locus was mapped to Sna4 with high confidence. Synteny analysis revealed that lake trout and congener Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) are likely differentiated by three or four chromosomal fissions, possibly one chromosomal fusion, and 6 or more large inversions. Combining centromere mapping information with putative inversion coordinates revealed that the majority of detected inversions differentiating lake trout from other salmonids are pericentric and located on acrocentric and telocentric linkage groups. Our results suggest that speciation and adaptive divergence within the genus Salvelinus may have been associated with multiple pericentric inversions occurring primarily on acrocentric and telocentric chromosomes. The linkage map presented here will be a critical resource for advancing conservation oriented genomic research on lake trout and exploring chromosomal evolution within and between salmonid species.

Replicated anthropogenic hybridisations reveal parallel patterns of admixture in marine mussels

Human-mediated transport creates secondary contacts between genetically differentiated lineages, bringing new opportunities for gene exchange. When similar introductions occur in different places, they provide informally replicated experiments for studying hybridisation. We here examined 4,279 Mytilus mussels, sampled in Europe and genotyped with 77 ancestry-informative markers. We identified a type of introduced mussels, called "dock mussels," associated with port habitats and displaying a particular genetic signal of admixture between M. edulis and the Mediterranean lineage of M. galloprovincialis. These mussels exhibit similarities in their ancestry compositions, regardless of the local native genetic backgrounds and the distance separating colonised ports. We observed fine-scale genetic shifts at the port entrance, at scales below natural dispersal distance. Such sharp clines do not fit with migration-selection tension zone models, and instead suggest habitat choice and early-stage adaptation to the port environment, possibly coupled with connectivity barriers. Variations in the spread and admixture patterns of dock mussels seem to be influenced by the local native genetic backgrounds encountered. We next examined departures from the average admixture rate at different loci, and compared human-mediated admixture events, to naturally admixed populations and experimental crosses. When the same M. galloprovincialis background was involved, positive correlations in the departures of loci across locations were found; but when different backgrounds were involved, no or negative correlations were observed. While some observed positive correlations might be best explained by a shared history and saltatory colonisation, others are likely produced by parallel selective events. Altogether, genome-wide effect of admixture seems repeatable and more dependent on genetic background than environmental context. Our results pave the way towards further genomic analyses of admixture, and monitoring of the spread of dock mussels both at large and at fine spacial scales.

Conservation and Management of Salmon in the Age of Genomics

Salmon were among the first nonmodel species for which systematic population genetic studies of natural populations were conducted, often to support management and conservation. The genomics revolution has improved our understanding of the evolutionary ecology of salmon in two major ways: (a) Large increases in the numbers of genetic markers (from dozens to 10⁴-10⁶) provide greater power for traditional analyses, such as the delineation of population structure, hybridization, and population assignment, and (b) qualitatively new insights that were not possible with traditional genetic methods can be achieved by leveraging detailed information about the structure and function of the genome. Studies of the first type have been more common to date, largely because it has taken time for the necessary tools to be developed to fully understand the complex salmon genome. We expect that the next decade will witness many new studies that take full advantage of salmonid genomic resources.

The role of recombination on genome-wide patterns of local ancestry exemplified by supplemented brook charr populations

Assessing the immediate and long-term evolutionary consequences of human-mediated hybridization is of major concern for conservation biology. Several studies have documented how selection in interaction with recombination modulates introgression at a genome-wide scale, but few have considered the dynamics of this process within and among chromosomes. Here, we used an exploited freshwater fish, the brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis), for which decades of stocking practices have resulted in admixture between wild populations and an introduced domestic strain, to assess both the temporal dynamics and local chromosomal variation in domestic ancestry. We provide a detailed picture of the domestic ancestry patterns across the genome using about 33,000 mapped single nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped in 611 individuals from 24 supplemented populations. For each lake, we distinguished early- and late-generation hybrids using information regarding admixture tracts. To assess the selective outcomes following admixture we then evaluated the relationship between recombination and admixture proportions at three different scales: the whole genome, chromosomes and within 2-Mb windows. This allowed us to detect a wide range of evolutionary mechanisms varying along the genome, as reflected by the finding of favoured or disfavoured introgression of domestic haplotypes. Among these, the main factor modulating local ancestry was probably the presence of deleterious recessive mutations in the wild populations, which can be efficiently hidden to selection in the presence of long admixture tracts. Overall, our results emphasize the relevance of taking into consideration local ancestry information to assess both the temporal and the chromosomal variation in local admixture ancestry toward better understanding post-hybridization evolutionary outcomes.

The spatial scale of dispersal revealed by admixture tracts

Evaluating species dispersal across the landscape is essential to design appropriate management and conservation actions. However, technical difficulties often preclude direct measures of individual movement, while indirect genetic approaches rely on assumptions that sometimes limit their application. Here, we show that the temporal decay of admixture tracts lengths can be used to assess genetic connectivity within a population introgressed by foreign haplotypes. We present a proof-of-concept approach based on local ancestry inference in a high gene flow marine fish species, the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Genetic admixture in the contact zone between Atlantic and Mediterranean sea bass lineages allows the introgression of Atlantic haplotype tracts within the Mediterranean Sea. Once introgressed, blocks of foreign ancestry are progressively eroded by recombination as they diffuse from the western to the eastern Mediterranean basin, providing a means to estimate dispersal. By comparing the length distributions of Atlantic tracts between two Mediterranean populations located at different distances from the contact zone, we estimated the average per-generation dispersal distance within the Mediterranean lineage to less than 50 km. Using simulations, we showed that this approach is robust to a range of demographic histories and sample sizes. Our results thus support that the length of admixture tracts can be used together with a recombination clock to estimate genetic connectivity in species for which the neutral migration-drift balance is not informative or simply does not exist.

Exploring a Pool-seq-only approach for gaining population genomic insights in nonmodel species

Developing genomic insights is challenging in nonmodel species for which resources are often scarce and prohibitively costly. Here, we explore the potential of a recently established approach using Pool-seq data to generate a de novo genome assembly for mining exons, upon which Pool-seq data are used to estimate population divergence and diversity. We do this for two pairs of sympatric populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta): one naturally sympatric set of populations and another pair of populations introduced to a common environment. We validate our approach by comparing the results to those from markers previously used to describe the populations (allozymes and individual-based single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) and from mapping the Pool-seq data to a reference genome of the closely related Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We find that genomic differentiation (F ST) between the two introduced populations exceeds that of the naturally sympatric populations (F ST = 0.13 and 0.03 between the introduced and the naturally sympatric populations, respectively), in concordance with estimates from the previously used SNPs. The same level of population divergence is found for the two genome assemblies, but estimates of average nucleotide diversity differ ( π ¯  ≈ 0.002 and π ¯  ≈ 0.001 when mapping to S. trutta and S. salar, respectively), although the relationships between population values are largely consistent. This discrepancy might be attributed to biases when mapping to a haploid condensed assembly made of highly fragmented read data compared to using a high-quality reference assembly from a divergent species. We conclude that the Pool-seq-only approach can be suitable for detecting and quantifying genome-wide population differentiation, and for comparing genomic diversity in populations of nonmodel species where reference genomes are lacking.

Development of a large SNPs resource and a low-density SNP array for brown trout (Salmo trutta) population genetics

Background

The brown trout (Salmo trutta) is an economically and ecologically important species for which population genetic monitoring is frequently performed. The most commonly used genetic markers for this species are microsatellites and mitochondrial markers that lack replicability among laboratories, and a large genome coverage. An alternative that may be particularly efficient and universal is the development of small to large panels of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers (SNPs). Here, we used Restriction site Associated DNA sequences (RADs) markers to identify a set of 12,204 informative SNPs positioned on the brown trout linkage map and suitable for population genetics studies. Then, we used this novel resource to develop a cost-effective array of 192 SNPs (96 × 2) evenly spread on this map. This array was tested for genotyping success in five independent rivers occupied by two main brown trout evolutionary lineages (Atlantic -AT- and Mediterranean -ME-) on a total of 1862 individuals. Moreover, inference of admixture rate with domestic strains and population differentiation were assessed for a small river system (the Taurion River, 190 individuals) and results were compared to a panel of 13 microsatellites.

Results

A high genotyping success was observed for all rivers (< 1% of non-genotyped loci per individual), although some initially used SNP failed to be amplified, probably because of mutations in primers, and were replaced. These SNPs permitted to identify patterns of isolation-by-distance for some rivers. Finally, we found that microsatellite and SNP markers yielded very similar patterns for population differentiation and admixture assessments, with SNPs having better ability to detect introgression and differentiation.

Conclusions

The novel resources provided here opens new perspectives for universality and genome-wide studies in brown trout populations.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-5958-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Identifying hybrids & the genomics of hybridization: Mallards & American black ducks of Eastern North America

Resolving evolutionary relationships and establishing population structure depends on molecular diagnosability that is often limited for closely related taxa. Here, we use 3,200 ddRAD-seq loci across 290 mallards, American black ducks, and putative hybrids to establish population structure and estimate hybridization rates. We test between traditional assignment probability and accumulated recombination events based analyses to assign hybrids to generational classes. For hybrid identification, we report the distribution of recombination events complements ADMIXTURE simulation by extending resolution past F4 hybrid status; however, caution against hybrid assignment based on accumulated recombination events due to an inability to resolve F1 hybrids. Nevertheless, both analyses suggest that there are relatively few backcrossed stages before a lineage's hybrid ancestry is lost and the offspring are effectively parental again. We conclude that despite high rates of observed interspecific hybridization between mallards and black ducks in the middle part of the 20th century, our results do not support the predicted hybrid swarm. Conversely, we report that mallard samples genetically assigned to western and non-western clusters. We indicate that these non-western mallards likely originated from game-farm stock, suggesting landscape level gene flow between domestic and wild conspecifics.