Size-selective harvesting drives genomic shifts in a harvested population.

Overfishing not only drastically reduces the number of fish in an exploited population but is also often selective for body size by removing the largest individuals from a population. Here, we study experimentally the evolutionary effects of size-selective harvesting using whole-genome sequencing on a model organism, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). We demonstrate genomic shifts in the populations exposed to size-selective harvesting for five generations and show reduced genetic diversity in all harvested lines, including the control line (non-size-selected). We also determine differences in groups of genes related to certain gene ontology annotations between size-selectively harvested lines, with enrichment in nervous system related genes in the large-selected lines. Our results illuminate the biological processes underlying fisheries-induced genetic changes and hence contribute toward the understanding of the changes potentially associated with the vulnerability of an exploited population to future stressors.

Rapid, broad-scale gene expression evolution in experimentally harvested fish populations.

Gene expression changes potentially play an important role in adaptive evolution under human-induced selection pressures, but this has been challenging to demonstrate in natural populations. Fishing exhibits strong selection pressure against large body size, thus potentially inducing evolutionary changes in life history and other traits that may be slowly reversible once fishing ceases. However, there is a lack of convincing examples regarding the speed and magnitude of fisheries-induced evolution, and thus, the relevant underlying molecular-level effects remain elusive. We use wild-origin zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for harvest-induced evolution. We experimentally demonstrate broad-scale gene expression changes induced by just five generations of size-selective harvesting, and limited genetic convergence following the cessation of harvesting. We also demonstrate significant allele frequency changes in genes that were differentially expressed after five generations of size-selective harvesting. We further show that nine generations of captive breeding induced substantial gene expression changes in control stocks likely due to inadvertent selection in the captive environment. The large extent and rapid pace of the gene expression changes caused by both harvest-induced selection and captive breeding emphasizes the need for evolutionary enlightened management towards sustainable fisheries.

Gut Microbiota Profiling as a Promising Tool to Detect Equine Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Gastrointestinal disorders are common and debilitating in horses, but their diagnosis is often difficult and invasive. Fecal samples offer a non-invasive alternative to assessing the gastrointestinal health of horses by providing information about the gut microbiota and inflammation. In this study, we used 16S sequencing to compare the fecal bacterial diversity and composition of 27 healthy horses and 49 horses diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We also measured fecal calprotectin concentration, a marker of intestinal inflammation, in healthy horses and horses with IBD. We found that microbiota composition differed between healthy horses and horses with IBD, although less than five percent of the variation in microbiota composition was explained by individual health status and age. Several differentially abundant bacterial taxa associated with IBD, age, or body condition were depleted from the most dominant Firmicutes phylum and enriched with the Bacteroidota phylum. An artificial neural network model predicted the probability of IBD among the test samples with 100% accuracy. Our study is the first to demonstrate the association between gut microbiota composition and chronic forms of IBD in horses and highlights the potential of using fecal samples as a non-invasive source of biomarkers for equine IBD.

Whole-genome Analysis Reveals Contrasting Relationships Among Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genomes Between Three Sympatric Bat Species.

Understanding mechanisms involved in speciation can be challenging, especially when hybridization or introgression blurs species boundaries. In bats, resolving relationships of some closely related groups has proved difficult due subtle interspecific variation both in morphometrics and molecular data sets. The endemic South American Histiotus bats, currently considered a subgenus of Eptesicus, harbor unresolved phylogenetic relationships and of those is a trio consisting of two closely related species: Eptesicus (Histiotus) macrotus and Eptesicus (Histiotus) montanus, and their relationship with a third, Eptesicus (Histiotus) magellanicus. The three sympatric species bear marked resemblance to each other, but can be differentiated morphologically. Furthermore, previous studies have been unable to differentiate the species from each other at a molecular level. In order to disentangle the phylogenetic relationships of these species, we examined the differentiation patterns and evolutionary history of the three Eptesicus (H.) species at the whole-genome level. The nuclear DNA statistics between the species suggest strong gene flow and recent hybridization between E. (H.) montanus and E. (H.) macrotus, whereas E. (H.) magellanicus shows a higher degree of isolation. In contrast, mitochondrial DNA shows a closer relationship between E. (H.) magellanicus and E. (H.) montanus. Opposing patterns in mtDNA and nuclear markers are often due to differences in dispersal, and here it could be both as a result of isolation in refugia during the last glacial maximum and female philopatry and male-biased dispersal. In conclusion, this study shows the importance of both the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in resolving phylogenetic relationships and species histories.

Cytosine methylation patterns suggest a role of methylation in plastic and adaptive responses to temperature in European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) populations.

Temperature is a key environmental parameter affecting both the phenotypes and distributions of organisms, particularly ectotherms. Rapid organismal responses to thermal environmental changes have been described for several ectotherms; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms often remain unclear. Here, we studied whole genome cytosine methylation patterns of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) embryos from five populations with contemporary adaptations of early life history traits at either 'colder' or 'warmer' spawning grounds. We reared fish embryos in a common garden experiment using two temperatures that resembled the 'colder' and 'warmer' conditions of the natal natural environments. Genome-wide methylation patterns were similar in populations originating from colder thermal origin subpopulations, whereas single nucleotide polymorphisms uncovered from the same data identified strong population structure among isolated populations, but limited structure among interconnected populations. This was surprising because the previously studied gene expression response among populations was mostly plastic, and mainly influenced by the developmental temperature. These findings support the hypothesis of the magnified role of epigenetic mechanisms in modulating plasticity. The abundance of consistently changing methylation loci between two warmer-to-colder thermal origin population pairs suggests that local adaptation has shaped the observed methylation patterns. The dynamic nature of the methylomes was further highlighted by genome-wide and site-specific plastic responses. Our findings support both the presence of a plastic response in a subset of CpG loci, and the evolutionary role of methylation divergence between populations adapting to contrasting thermal environments.

Population Connectivity Predicts Vulnerability to White-Nose Syndrome in the Chilean Myotis (Myotis chiloensis) - A Genomics Approach.

Despite its peculiar distribution, the biology of the southernmost bat species in the world, the Chilean myotis (Myotis chiloensis), has garnered little attention so far. The species has a north-south distribution of c. 2800 km, mostly on the eastern side of the Andes mountain range. Use of extended torpor occurs in the southernmost portion of the range, putting the species at risk of bat white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease responsible for massive population declines in North American bats. Here, we examined how geographic distance and topology would be reflected in the population structure of M. chiloensis along the majority of its range using a double digestion RAD-seq method. We sampled 66 individuals across the species range and discovered pronounced isolation-by-distance. Furthermore, and surprisingly, we found higher degrees of heterozygosity in the southernmost populations compared to the north. A coalescence analysis revealed that our populations may still not have reached secondary contact after the Last Glacial Maximum. As for the potential spread of pathogens, such as the fungus causing WNS, connectivity among populations was noticeably low, especially between the southern hibernatory populations in the Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego, and more northerly populations. This suggests the probability of geographic spread of the disease from the north through bat-to-bat contact to susceptible populations is low. The study presents a rare case of defined population structure in a bat species and warrants further research on the underlying factors contributing to this. See the graphical abstract here. https://doi.org/10.25387/g3.12173385.

The Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of European Grayling Reveals Aspects of a Unique Genome Evolution Process Within Salmonids.

Salmonids represent an intriguing taxonomical group for investigating genome evolution in vertebrates due to their relatively recent last common whole genome duplication event, which occurred between 80 and 100 million years ago. Here, we report on the chromosome-level genome assembly of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus), which represents one of the earliest diverged salmonid subfamilies. To achieve this, we first generated relatively long genomic scaffolds by using a previously published draft genome assembly along with long-read sequencing data and a linkage map. We then merged those scaffolds by applying synteny evidence from the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) genome. Comparisons of the European grayling genome assembly to the genomes of Atlantic salmon and Northern pike (Esox lucius), the latter used as a nonduplicated outgroup, detailed aspects of the characteristic chromosome evolution process that has taken place in European grayling. While Atlantic salmon and other salmonid genomes are portrayed by the typical occurrence of numerous chromosomal fusions, European grayling chromosomes were confirmed to be fusion-free and were characterized by a relatively large proportion of paracentric and pericentric inversions. We further reported on transposable elements specific to either the European grayling or Atlantic salmon genome, on the male-specific sdY gene in the European grayling chromosome 11A, and on regions under residual tetrasomy in the homeologous European grayling chromosome pairs 9A-9B and 25A-25B. The same chromosome pairs have been observed under residual tetrasomy in Atlantic salmon and in other salmonids, suggesting that this feature has been conserved since the subfamily split.

Modularity Facilitates Flexible Tuning of Plastic and Evolutionary Gene Expression Responses during Early Divergence.

Gene expression changes have been recognized as important drivers of adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Little is known about the relative roles of plastic and evolutionary responses in complex gene expression networks during the early stages of divergence. Large gene expression data sets coupled with in silico methods for identifying coexpressed modules now enable systems genetics approaches also in nonmodel species for better understanding of gene expression responses during early divergence. Here, we combined gene coexpression analyses with population genetics to separate plastic and population (evolutionary) effects in expression networks using small salmonid populations as a model system. We show that plastic and population effects were highly variable among the six identified modules and that the plastic effects explained larger proportion of the total eigengene expression than population effects. A more detailed analysis of the population effects using a QST - FST comparison across 16,622 annotated transcripts revealed that gene expression followed neutral expectations within modules and at the global level. Furthermore, two modules showed enrichment for genes coding for early developmental traits that have been previously identified as important phenotypic traits in thermal responses in the same model system indicating that coexpression analysis can capture expression patterns underlying ecologically important traits. We suggest that module-specific responses may facilitate the flexible tuning of expression levels to local thermal conditions. Overall, our study indicates that plasticity and neutral evolution are the main drivers of gene expression variance in the early stages of thermal adaptation in this system.