scholarly journals EPAS1 variants in high altitude Tibetan wolves were selectively introgressed into highland dogs

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridgett vonHoldt ◽  
Zhenxin Fan ◽  
Diego Ortega-Del Vecchyo ◽  
Robert K. Wayne
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Coat Color ◽  
Small Region ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Chromosome 10 ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
History Of

Background Admixture can facilitate adaptation. For example, black wolves have obtained the variant causing black coat color through past hybridization with domestic dogs and have higher fitness than gray colored wolves. Another recent example of the transfer of adaptive variation between the two species has been suggested by the similarity between high altitude Tibetan mastiffs and wolves at the EPAS1 gene, a transcription factor induced in low oxygen environments. Methods Here, we investigate the directionality of admixture in EPAS1 between 28 reference highland gray wolves, 15 reference domestic dogs, and 21 putatively admixed highland wolves. This experimental design represents an expanded sample of Asian dogs and wolves from previous studies. Admixture was inferred using 17,709 publicly available SNP genotypes on canine chromosome 10. We additionally conducted a scan for positive selection in the highland dog genome. Results We find an excess of highland gray wolf ancestry at the EPAS1 locus in highland domestic dogs, suggesting adaptive introgression from wolves to dogs. The signal of admixture is limited in genomic extent to a small region on chromosome 10, indicating that it is the focus of selection in an oxygen-limited environment. Discussion Our results suggest that an adaptive variant of EPAS1 in highland wolves was transferred to highland dogs, carrying linked variants that potentially function in hypoxia response at high elevation. The intertwined history of dogs and wolves ensures a unique evolutionary dynamic where variants that have appeared in the history of either species can be tested for their effects on fitness under natural and artificial selection. Such coupled evolutionary histories may be key to the persistence of wild canines and their domesticated kin given the increasing anthropogenic modifications that characterize the future of both species.

The Dogma of Dingoes—Taxonomic status of the dingo: A reply to Smith et al.

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4564 (1) ◽  
pp. 198 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN M. JACKSON ◽  
PETER J.S. FLEMING ◽  
MARK D.B. ELDRIDGE ◽  
SANDY INGLEBY ◽  
TIM FLANNERY ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
Narrow Scope

Adopting the name Canis dingo for the Dingo to explicitly denote a species-level taxon separate from other canids was suggested by Crowther et al.  (2014) as a means to eliminate taxonomic instability and contention. However, Jackson et al.  (2017), using standard taxonomic and nomenclatural approaches and principles, called instead for continued use of the nomen C. familiaris for all domestic dogs and their derivatives, including the Dingo. (This name, C. familiaris, is applied to all dogs that derive from the domesticated version of the Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, based on nomenclatural convention.) The primary reasons for this call by Jackson et al.  (2017) were: (1) a lack of evidence to show that recognizing multiple species amongst the dog, including the Dingo and New Guinea Singing Dog, was necessary taxonomically, and (2) the principle of nomenclatural priority (the name familiaris Linnaeus, 1758, antedates dingo Meyer, 1793). Overwhelming current evidence from archaeology and genomics indicates that the Dingo is of recent origin in Australia and shares immediate ancestry with other domestic dogs as evidenced by patterns of genetic and morphological variation. Accordingly, for Smith et al.  (2019) to recognise Canis dingo as a distinct species, the onus was on them to overturn current interpretations of available archaeological, genomic, and morphological datasets and instead show that Dingoes have a deeply divergent evolutionary history that distinguishes them from other named forms of Canis (including C. lupus and its domesticated version, C. familiaris). A recent paper by Koepfli et al.  (2015) demonstrates exactly how this can be done in a compelling way within the genus Canis—by demonstrating deep evolutionary divergence between taxa, on the order of hundreds of thousands of years, using data from multiple genetic systems. Smith et al.  (2019) have not done this; instead they have misrepresented the content and conclusions of Jackson et al.  (2017), and contributed extraneous arguments that are not relevant to taxonomic decisions. Here we dissect Smith et al.  (2019), identifying misrepresentations, to show that ecological, behavioural and morphological evidence is insufficient to recognise Dingoes as a separate species from other domestic dogs. We reiterate: the correct binomial name for the taxon derived from Gray Wolves (C. lupus) by passive and active domestication, including Dingoes and other domestic dogs, is Canis familiaris. We are strongly sympathetic to arguments about the historical, ecological, cultural, or other significance of the Dingo, but these are issues that will have to be considered outside of the more narrow scope of taxonomy and nomenclature. 

scholarly journals Developmental and reproductive physiology of small mammals at high altitude: challenges and evolutionary innovations

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (24) ◽  
pp. jeb215350
Author(s):  
Cayleih E. Robertson ◽  
Kathryn Wilsterman
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Neonatal Physiology ◽  
Reproductive Females

ABSTRACTHigh-altitude environments, characterized by low oxygen levels and low ambient temperatures, have been repeatedly colonized by small altricial mammals. These species inhabit mountainous regions year-round, enduring chronic cold and hypoxia. The adaptations that allow small mammals to thrive at altitude have been well studied in non-reproducing adults; however, our knowledge of adaptations specific to earlier life stages and reproductive females is extremely limited. In lowland natives, chronic hypoxia during gestation affects maternal physiology and placental function, ultimately limiting fetal growth. During post-natal development, hypoxia and cold further limit growth both directly by acting on neonatal physiology and indirectly via impacts on maternal milk production and care. Although lowland natives can survive brief sojourns to even extreme high altitude as adults, reproductive success in these environments is very low, and lowland young rarely survive to sexual maturity in chronic cold and hypoxia. Here, we review the limits to maternal and offspring physiology – both pre-natal and post-natal – that highland-adapted species have overcome, with a focus on recent studies on high-altitude populations of the North American deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). We conclude that a combination of maternal and developmental adaptations were likely to have been critical steps in the evolutionary history of high-altitude native mammals.

scholarly journals Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) recolonization failure: a Minnesota case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. David Mech ◽  
Forest Isbell ◽  
Jim Krueger ◽  
John Hart
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Canis Lupus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Gray Wolves ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Established Population ◽  
Do So

During the past few decades, Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) have recolonized many areas in the United States and Europe. In many other cases, however, although dispersing wolves reached areas with adequate prey, a population failed to recolonize. Herein, we provide a case study detailing how a wolf pack attempted for three years to recolonize an area 55 km from a long-established population and within 25 km of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, but failed. The pack produced three litters of pups and at one time included 11–19 members, but it preyed on livestock and dogs and, consequently, was lethally removed. The history of this pack’s attempt to recolonize an area long devoid of wolves exemplifies the issues that have prevented earlier recolonizations in non-wild lands in Minnesota and elsewhere and that promise to do so well into the future.

scholarly journals Interface of Human/Wildlife Interactions: An Example of a Bold Coyote (Canis latrans) in Atlanta, GA, USA

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
Christopher B. Mowry ◽  
Lawrence A. Wilson ◽  
Bridgett M. vonHoldt
Keyword(s):  
Coat Color ◽  
Canis Latrans ◽  
Single Copy ◽  
Domestic Dogs ◽  
Domestic Dog ◽  
Gray Wolf ◽  
Wildlife Sanctuary ◽  
Dominant Mutation ◽  
Participatory Science ◽  
Genome Wide

There is arguably no other North American species that better illustrates the complexities of the human-wildlife interface than the coyote. In this study, a melanistic coyote in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia was exhibiting unusually bold behaviors that included encounters with humans, domestic dogs, and attempts to enter homes. After tracking this coyote (nicknamed Carmine) across a highly urbanized landscape with participatory science, including at least 80 publicly reported sightings, he was captured and relocated to a wildlife sanctuary. Genome-wide analyses revealed 92.8% coyote ancestry, 1.7% gray wolf ancestry, and 5.5% domestic dog ancestry. The dog alleles in Carmine’s genome were estimated to have been acquired by his ancestors 14–29 years ago. Despite his bold behavior, Carmine did not carry any mutations known to shape hypersociability in canines. He did, however, carry a single copy of the dominant mutation responsible for his melanistic coat color. This detailed study of Carmine dispels common assumptions about the reticent coyote personality and the origins of behavior. His unusual bold behavior created a higher level of human-coyote interaction. He now serves as a public ambassador for human-wildlife coexistence, urging the global community to reconsider mythologies about wildlife and promote coexistence with them in landscapes significantly altered by human activity in our rapidly changing world.

scholarly journals Oxygen regulation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in human placenta

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (1) ◽  
pp. E272-E280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Ietta ◽  
Yuanhong Wu ◽  
Roberta Romagnoli ◽  
Nima Soleymanlou ◽  
Barbara Orsini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Migration Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Inhibitory Factor ◽  
Extravillous Trophoblast ◽  
Macrophage Migration ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Placental Development

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is an important proinflammatory cytokine involved in regulation of macrophage function. In addition, MIF may also play a role in murine and human reproduction. Although both first trimester trophoblast and decidua express MIF, the regulation and functional significance of this cytokine during human placental development remains unclear. We assessed MIF expression throughout normal human placental development, as well as in in vitro (chorionic villous explants) and in vivo (high altitude placentae) models of human placental hypoxia. Dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG), which stabilizes hypoxia inducible factor-1 under normoxic conditions, was also used to mimic the effects of hypoxia on MIF expression. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis showed high MIF protein and mRNA expression at 7–10 wk and lower levels at 11–12 wk until term. Exposure of villous explants to 3% O2 resulted in increased MIF expression and secretion relative to standard conditions (20% O2). DMOG treatment under 20% O2 increased MIF expression. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed elevated MIF expression in low oxygen-induced extravillous trophoblast cells. Finally, a significant increase in MIF transcript was observed in placental tissues from high-altitude pregnancies. Hence, three experimental models of placental hypoxia (early gestation, DMOG treatment, and high altitude) converge in stimulating increased MIF, supporting the conclusion that placental-derived MIF is an oxygen-responsive cytokine highly expressed in physiological in vivo and in in vitro low oxygen conditions.

A millennium-long perspective on high-elevation pine recruitment in the Spanish central Pyrenees

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 1108-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Sangüesa-Barreda ◽  
J. Julio Camarero ◽  
Jan Esper ◽  
J. Diego Galván ◽  
Ulf Büntgen
Keyword(s):  
Ring Width ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Upward Migration ◽  
Scale Temperature ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic Drivers ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Central Pyrenees

Long-term fluctuations in forest recruitment, at time scales well beyond the life-span of individual trees, can be related to climate changes. The underlying climatic drivers are, however, often understudied. Here, we present the recruitment history of a high-elevation mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) forest in the Spanish central Pyrenees throughout the last millennium. A total of 1108 ring-width series translated into a continuous chronology from 924 to 2014 CE, which allowed estimated germination dates of 470 trees to be compared against decadal-scale temperature variability. High recruitment intensity mainly coincided with relatively warm periods in the early 14th, 15th, 19th, and 20th centuries, whereas cold phases during the mid-17th, early 18th, and mid-19th centuries overlapped with generally low recruitment rates. In revealing the importance of prolonged warm conditions for high-elevation pine recruitment in the Pyrenees, this study suggests increased densification and even possible upward migration of tree-line ecotones under predicted global warming.

scholarly journals Hypoxia-Induced Inflammatory Chemokines in Subjects with a History of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. P. Mishra ◽  
Navita Sharma ◽  
Poonam Soree ◽  
R. K. Gupta ◽  
Lilly Ganju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Edema ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema ◽  
Inflammatory Chemokines ◽  
History Of
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