Dispersal and Good Habitat Quality Promote Neutral Genetic Diversity in Metapopulations

SummaryAs extinction of local domestic breeds and of isolated subpopulations of wild species continues, and the resources available for conservation programs are limited, prioritizing subpopulations for conservation is of high importance to halt the erosion of genetic diversity observed in endangered species. Current approaches usually only take neutral genetic diversity into account. However, adaptation of subpopulations to different environments also contributes to the diversity found in the species. This paper introduces two notions of adaptive variation. The adaptive diversity in a trait is the excess of variance found in genotypic values relative to the variance that would have been expected in the absence of selection. The adaptivity coverage of a set of subpopulations quantifies how well the subpopulations could adapt to a large range of environments within a limited time span. Additionally, genome-based notions of neutral diversities were obtained that correspond to well known pedigree-based definitions. The values of subpopulations for conservation of adaptivity coverage were compared with their conservation values for adaptive diversity and neutral diversities using simulated data. Conservation values for adaptive diversity and neutral diversities were only slightly correlated, but the values for conservation of adaptivity coverage showed a reasonable correlation with both kinds if the time span was chosen appropriately. Hence, maintaining adaptivity coverage is a promising approach to prioritize subpopulations for conservation decisions.

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Landscape prerequisites for the survival of a modelled metapopulation and its neutral genetic diversity are affected by climate change

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-011-9676-1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 227-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Marleen M. P. Cobben ◽

Jana Verboom ◽

Paul F. M. Opdam ◽

Rolf F. Hoekstra ◽

René Jochem ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Neutral Genetic Diversity

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Population size and habitat quality affect genetic diversity and fitness in the clonal herb Cirsium dissectum

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/s00442-008-1203-y ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 159 (1) ◽

pp. 59-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Natasha de Vere ◽

Eelke Jongejans ◽

Amy Plowman ◽

Eirene Williams

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Population Size ◽

Habitat Quality ◽

Cirsium Dissectum

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Rejection of a serial founder effects model of genetic and linguistic coevolution

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2011.2296 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 279 (1736) ◽

pp. 2281-2288 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Keith Hunley ◽

Claire Bowern ◽

Meghan Healy

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Negative Correlation ◽

Microsatellite Loci ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Evolutionary Process ◽

Founder Effects ◽

Genetic Studies ◽

Neutral Genetic Diversity ◽

Genetic Pattern ◽

Autosomal Microsatellite Loci

Recent genetic studies attribute the negative correlation between population genetic diversity and distance from Africa to a serial founder effects (SFE) evolutionary process. A recent linguistic study concluded that a similar decay in phoneme inventories in human languages was also the product of the SFE process. However, the SFE process makes additional predictions for patterns of neutral genetic diversity, both within and between groups, that have not yet been tested on phonemic data. In this study, we describe these predictions and test them on linguistic and genetic samples. The linguistic sample consists of 725 widespread languages, which together contain 908 distinct phonemes. The genetic sample consists of 614 autosomal microsatellite loci in 100 widespread populations. All aspects of the genetic pattern are consistent with the predictions of SFE. In contrast, most of the predictions of SFE are violated for the phonemic data. We show that phoneme inventories provide information about recent contacts between languages. However, because phonemes change rapidly, they cannot provide information about more ancient evolutionary processes.

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The Effect of Mating System Differences on Nucleotide Diversity at the Phosphoglucose Isomerase Locus in the Plant Genus Leavenworthia

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/151.1.343 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 151 (1) ◽

pp. 343-357 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

F Liu ◽

D Charlesworth ◽

M Kreitman

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Nucleotide Diversity ◽

Phosphoglucose Isomerase ◽

Self Incompatibility ◽

Background Selection ◽

Selective Sweeps ◽

Balanced Polymorphism ◽

Neutral Genetic Diversity ◽

Low Diversity ◽

High Diversity

AbstractTo test the theoretical prediction that highly inbreeding populations should have low neutral genetic diversity relative to closely related outcrossing populations, we sequenced portions of the cytosolic phosphoglucose isomerase (PgiC) gene in the plant genus Leavenworthia, which includes both self-incompatible and inbreeding taxa. On the basis of sequences of intron 12 of this gene, the expected low diversity was seen in both populations of the selfers Leavenworthia uniflora and L. torulosa and in three highly inbreeding populations of L. crassa, while high diversity was found in self-incompatible L. stylosa, and moderate diversity in L. crassa populations with partial or complete self-incompatibility. In L. stylosa, the nucleotide diversity was strongly structured into three haplotypic classes, differing by several insertion/deletion sequences, with linkage disequilibrium between sequences of the three types in intron 12, but not in the adjacent regions. Differences between the three kinds of haplotypes are larger than between sequences of this gene region from different species. The haplotype divergence suggests the presence of a balanced polymorphism at this locus, possibly predating the split between L. stylosa and its two inbreeding sister taxa, L. uniflora and L. torulosa. It is therefore difficult to distinguish between different potential causes of the much lower sequence diversity at this locus in inbreeding than outcrossing populations. Selective sweeps during the evolution of these populations are possible, or background selection, or merely loss of a balanced polymorphism maintained by overdominance in the populations that evolved high selfing rates.

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Seed collection strategies for plant restoration with the aid of neutral genetic diversity

Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy ◽

10.11110/kjpt.2019.49.4.275 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 275-281

Author(s):

Mi Yoon CHUNG ◽

Sungwon SON ◽

Kangshan MAO ◽

Jordi LÓPEZ-PUJOL ◽

Myong Gi CHUNG

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Seed Collection ◽

Neutral Genetic Diversity ◽

Plant Restoration ◽

Collection Strategies

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Agricultural Landscape Heterogeneity Matter: Responses of Neutral Genetic Diversity and Adaptive Traits in a Neotropical Savanna Tree

Frontiers in Genetics ◽

10.3389/fgene.2020.606222 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Tatiana Souza do Amaral ◽

Juliana Silveira dos Santos ◽

Fernanda Fraga Rosa ◽

Marcelo Bruno Pessôa ◽

Lázaro José Chaves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Habitat Loss ◽

Additive Genetic Variance ◽

Time Lag ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Neotropical Savanna ◽

Evolutionary Potential ◽

Adaptive Traits ◽

Neutral Genetic Diversity

Plants are one of the most vulnerable groups to fragmentation and habitat loss, that may affect community richness, abundance, functional traits, and genetic diversity. Here, we address the effects of landscape features on adaptive quantitative traits and evolutionary potential, and on neutral genetic diversity in populations of the Neotropical savanna tree Caryocar brasiliense. We sampled adults and juveniles in 10 savanna remnants within five landscapes. To obtain neutral genetic variation, we genotyped all individuals from each site using nine microsatellite loci. For adaptive traits we measured seed size and mass and grown seeds in nursery in completely randomized experimental design. We obtained mean, additive genetic variance (Va) and coefficient of variation (CVa%), which measures evolvability, for 17 traits in seedlings. We found that landscapes with higher compositional heterogeneity (SHDI) had lower evolutionary potential (CVa%) in leaf length (LL) and lower aboveground dry mass (ADM) genetic differentiation (QST). We also found that landscapes with higher SHDI had higher genetic diversity (He) and allelic richness (AR) in adults, and lower genetic differentiation (FST). In juveniles, SHDI was also positively related to AR. These results are most likely due to longer dispersal distance of pollen in landscapes with lower density of flowering individuals. Agricultural landscapes with low quality mosaic may be more stressful for plant species, due to the lower habitat cover (%), higher cover of monocropping (%) and other land covers, and edge effects. However, in landscapes with higher SHDI with high quality mosaic, forest nearby savanna habitat and the other environments may facilitate the movement or provide additional habitat and resources for seed disperses and pollinators, increasing gene flow and genetic diversity. Finally, despite the very recent agriculture expansion in Central Brazil, we found no time lag in response to habitat loss, because both adults and juveniles were affected by landscape changes.

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