Hybridization of<scp>S</scp>outhern<scp>H</scp>emisphere blue whale subspecies and a sympatric area off<scp>A</scp>ntarctica: impacts of whaling or climate change?

Attard, Catherine; Beheregaray, Luciano B.; Jenner, K. Curt S.; Gill, Peter C.; Jenner, Micheline; Morrice, Margaret G.; Robertson, Kelly M.; Möller, Luciana M.

doi:10.1111/mec.12025

Cited by 39 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…In the great majority of hybrid studies, the most complex task is considered to be the identification of backcrossed individuals, especially in the case of later-generation backcrosses [10], [34], [36]. Accordingly, several sources have argued that this distinction often requires a large number of diagnostic alleles and/or a larger number of microsatellite loci [8], [9], [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Assessment of Genetic and Morphological Variation at an Extensive Hybrid Zone between Two Wild Cats in Southern Brazil

et al. 2014

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Increased attention towards the Neotropical cats Leopardus guttulus and L. geoffroyi was prompted after genetic studies identified the occurrence of extensive hybridization between them at their geographic contact zone in southern Brazil. This is a region where two biomes intersect, each of which is associated with one of the hybridizing species (Atlantic Forest with L. guttulus and Pampas with L. geoffroyi). In this study, we conducted in-depth analyses of multiple molecular markers aiming to characterize the magnitude and spatial structure of this hybrid zone. We also performed a morphological assessment of these species, aiming to test their phenotypic differentiation at the contact zone, as well as the correlation between morphological features and the admixture status of the individuals. We found strong evidence for extensive and complex hybridization, with at least 40% of the individuals sampled in Rio Grande do Sul state (southernmost Brazil) identified as hybrids resulting from post-F1 generations. Despite such a high level of hybridization, samples collected in this state still comprised two recognizable clusters (genetically and morphologically). Genetically pure individuals were sampled mainly in regions farther from the contact zone, while hybrids concentrated in a central region (exactly at the interface between the two biomes). The morphological data set also revealed a strong spatial structure, which was correlated with the molecular results but displayed an even more marked separation between the clusters. Hybrids often did not present intermediate body sizes and could not be clearly distinguished morphologically from the parental forms. This observation suggests that some selective pressure may be acting on the hybrids, limiting their dispersal away from the hybrid zone and perhaps favoring genomic combinations that maintain adaptive phenotypic features of one or the other parental species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Assessment of Genetic and Morphological Variation at an Extensive Hybrid Zone between Two Wild Cats in Southern Brazil

et al. 2014

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“…Samples were collected under the ethics requirements of the country, as detailed elsewhere [7,9]. rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org Biol.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We thank Kelly M. Robertson and Paula A. Olson for their input. Acknowledgements are detailed elsewhere for sampling [7,9]. …”

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confidence: 99%

Low genetic diversity in pygmy blue whales is due to climate-induced diversification rather than anthropogenic impacts

et al. 2015

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Unusually low genetic diversity can be a warning of an urgent need to mitigate causative anthropogenic activities. However, current low levels of genetic diversity in a population could also be due to natural historical events, including recent evolutionary divergence, or long-term persistence at a small population size. Here, we determine whether the relatively low genetic diversity of pygmy blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda ) in Australia is due to natural causes or overexploitation. We apply recently developed analytical approaches in the largest genetic dataset ever compiled to study blue whales (297 samples collected after whaling and representing lineages from Australia, Antarctica and Chile). We find that low levels of genetic diversity in Australia are due to a natural founder event from Antarctic blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus intermedia ) that occurred around the Last Glacial Maximum, followed by evolutionary divergence. Historical climate change has therefore driven the evolution of blue whales into genetically, phenotypically and behaviourally distinct lineages that will likely be influenced by future climate change.

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“…Indeed, bioinformatics has now become a vibrant and highly interdisciplinary area of research and the outlook for its future and its applications is very optimistic -"Bioinformatics alive and kicking" (Stein 2008). (Attard, Beheregaray et al 2012) Population genetics analyses…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Darwin and Fisher meet at biotech: On the potential of computational molecular evolution in industry

Anisimova

2014

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Today computational molecular evolution and bioinformatics are vibrant research areas that flourish on large amounts of complex datasets generated by new generation technologies – from full genomes and proteomes to microbiomes, metabolomes and epigenomes. Yet the foundations for successful mining and the analyses of such data were established long before the structure of the DNA was discovered. Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection not only remains relevant today, but also provides solid ground for computational research with a variety of applications. The data size and its complexity require empirical scientists to work in close collaboration with experts in computational science, modeling and statistics, as Sir R. Fisher has beautifully demonstrated in early 20th century. Particularly, modern computational methods for evaluating selection in molecular sequences are very useful for generating biological hypotheses and candidate gene sets for follow-up experiments. Evolutionary analyses of selective pressures in genomic data have high potential for applications, since natural selection is a leading force in function conservation, in adaptation to emerging pathogens, new environments, and plays key role in immune and resistance systems. At this stage, pharma and biotech industries can successfully use this potential, taking the initiative to enhance their research and development with the state-of the art bioinformatics approaches. This mini-review provides a quick “why-and-how” guide to the current approaches that apply the evolutionary principles of natural selection to real life problems – from drug target validation, vaccine design and protein engineering to applications in agriculture, ecology and conservation.

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Hybridization ofSouthernHemisphere blue whale subspecies and a sympatric area offAntarctica: impacts of whaling or climate change?

Cited by 39 publications

References 77 publications

Comparative Assessment of Genetic and Morphological Variation at an Extensive Hybrid Zone between Two Wild Cats in Southern Brazil

Comparative Assessment of Genetic and Morphological Variation at an Extensive Hybrid Zone between Two Wild Cats in Southern Brazil

Low genetic diversity in pygmy blue whales is due to climate-induced diversification rather than anthropogenic impacts

Darwin and Fisher meet at biotech: On the potential of computational molecular evolution in industry

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