Genome‐wide analyses suggest parallel selection for universal traits may eclipse local environmental selection in a highly mobile carnivore

• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1695
• Publication Date: 2015-09-22T12:59:43Z
• Authors: Astrid Vik Stronen; Bogumiła Jędrzeje...; Cino Pertoldi; Ditte Demontis; Ettore Randi; Magdalena Niedzia...; Tomasz Borowik; Vadim E. Sidorovich; Josip Kusak; Ilpo Kojola; Alexandros A. Kar...; Janis Ozolins; Vitalii Dumenko; Sylwia D. Czarnomska
• Keywords: Local adaptation; Candidate gene

Abstract Ecological and environmental heterogeneity can produce genetic differentiation in highly mobile species. Accordingly, local adaptation may be expected across comparatively short distances the presence of marked gradients. Within European continent, wolves ( Canis lupus ) exhibit distinct north–south population differentiation. We investigated more than 67‐K single nucleotide polymorphism SNP loci for signatures 59 unrelated from four previously identified clusters (northcentral Europe n = 32, Carpathian Mountains 7, Dinaric‐Balkan 9, Ukrainian Steppe 11). Our analyses combined identification outlier with findings genome‐wide association study individual genomic profiles 12 variables. 353 candidate loci. examined position neighboring megabase (1 Mb, one million bases) regions dog C. familiaris genome genes potentially under selection, including homologue other vertebrates. These included functional for, example, temperature regulation that indicate controlling functions universally important wolves, olfaction, hearing, vision, cognitive functions. also observed strong outliers not associated any variables, which could suggest selective pressures unmeasured variables and/or demographic factors. patterns are further supported by examination spatial distributions s traits, typically show differences allele frequencies among clusters. parallel selection features to all eclipse implies long‐term separation