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15,277 results for “GENETICS”
Data from: Limited pollen dispersal, small genetic neighborhoods, and biparental inbreeding in Vallisneria americana Michx. (Hydrocharitaceae)
Premise of the study: Pollen dispersal is a key process that influences ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant populations by facilitating sexual reproduction and gene flow. Habitat loss and fragmentation have the potential to reduce pollen dispersal within and among habitat patches. We assessed aquatic pollen dispersal and mating system characteristics in Vallisneria americana -- a water-pollinated plant with a distribution that has been reduced from historic levels. Methods: We examined pollen neighborhood size, biparental inbreeding, and pollen dispersal, based on seed paternity using the indirect paternity method KinDist, from samples of 18 - 39 mothers and 14 - 20 progeny per mother from 3 sites across 2 years. Key Results: On average, fruits contained seeds sired by 7 fathers. We found significant biparental inbreeding and limited pollen dispersal distances (0.8 - 4.34 m). However, in a number of cases correlated paternity did not decline with distance and dispersal could not be reliably estimated. Conclusions: Frequent pollen dispersal is not expected among patches, and even within patches gene flow via pollen will be limited. Limited pollen dispersal establishes genetic neighborhoods which, unless overcome by seed and propagule dispersal, will lead to genetic differentiation even in a continuous population. Unless loss and fragmentation drive populations to extreme sex bias, local pollen dispersal is likely to be unaffected by habitat loss and fragmentation per se because the spatial scale of patch isolation already exceeds pollen dispersal distances. Therefore, managing specifically for pollen connectivity is only relevant over very short distances.
Data from: Genetic sorting of subordinate species in grassland modulated by intraspecific variation in dominant species.
Genetic variation in a single species can have predictable and heritable effects on associated communities and ecosystem processes, however little is known about how genetic variation of a dominant species affects plant community assembly. We characterized the genetic structure of a dominant grass (Sorghastrum nutans) and two subordinate species (Chamaecrista fasciculata, Silphium integrifolium), during the third growing season in grassland communities established with genetically distinct (cultivated varieties or local ecotypes) seed sources of the dominant grasses. There were genetic differences between subordinate species growing in the cultivar versus local ecotype communities, indicating that intraspecific genetic variation in the dominant grasses affected the genetic composition of subordinate species during community assembly. A positive association between genetic diversity of S. nutans, C. fasciculata, and S. integrifolium and species diversity established the role of an intraspecific biotic filter during community assembly. Our results show that intraspecific variation in dominant species can significantly modulate the genetic composition of subordinate species.
Data from: Bioclimatic, ecological, and phenotypic intermediacy and high genetic admixture in a natural hybrid of octoploid strawberries
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Hybrid zones provide 'natural laboratories' for understanding the processes of selection, reinforcement and speciation. We sought to gain insight into the degree of introgression and the extent of ecological/phenotypic intermediacy in the natural hybrid strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa subsp. cuneifolia. METHODS: We used whole plastome sequencing to identify parental species-specific (Fragaria chiloensis and F. virginiana) chloroplast SNPs, and combined the use of these with nuclear microsatellite markers to genetically characterize the hybrid zone. We assessed the potential role of selection in the observed geographic patterns by bioclimatically characterizing the niche of the hybrid populations and phenotypically characterizing hybrid individuals of known genomic constitution. KEY RESULTS: Significant admixture and little overall maternal bias in chloroplast or nuclear genomes suggest a high degree of inter-fertility among the parental and hybrid species and point to a long history of backcrossing and genetic mixing in the hybrid zone. Even though hybrids were phenotypically intermediate to the parental species there was still a discernible fingerprint of the parental genotype within hybrid individuals. Thus, while the pattern of introgression observed suggests geographic limitations to gene flow, it may be reinforced by selection for specific parental traits in the bioclimatically-intermediate habitat occupied by the hybrid. CONCLUSION: This work uncovered the genetic complexity underlying the hybrid zone of the wild relatives of the cultivated strawberry. It lays the foundation for experimental dissection of the causes of genomic introgression and nuclear-cytoplasmic disassociation, and understanding other parts of the Fragaria evolutionary history.
Data from: Genetic distinction between contiguous urban and rural multimammate mice in Tanzania despite gene flow
Special conditions are required for genetic differentiation to arise at a local geographical scale in the face of gene flow. The Natal multimammate mouse, Mastomys natalensis, is the most widely distributed and abundant rodent in sub-Saharan Africa. A notorious agricultural pest and a natural host for many zoonotic diseases, it can live in close proximity to man, and appears to compete with other rodents for the synanthropic niche. We surveyed its population genetic structure across a 180 km transect in central Tanzania along which the landscape varied between agricultural land in a rural setting and natural woody vegetation, rivers, roads and a city. We sampled M. natalensis across 10 localities, and genotyped 15 microsatellite loci from 515 individuals. Hierarchical STRUCTURE analyses show a K-invariant pattern distinguishing Morogoro suburbs (located in the centre of the transect) from nine surrounding rural localities. Landscape connectivity analyses in Circuitscape and comparison of rainfall patterns suggest that neither geographical isolation nor natural breeding asynchrony could explain the genetic differentiation of the urban population. Using the Isolation-with-Migration model implemented in IMa2 we inferred that a split between suburban and rural populations would have occurred recently (<150 years ago) with higher urban effective population density consistent with an urban-source to rural-sink of effective migration. The observed genetic differentiation of urban multimammate mice is striking given the uninterrupted distribution of the animal throughout the landscape and the high estimates of effective migration (2NeM = 3.0 and 29.7), suggesting a strong selection gradient across the urban boundary.
Data from: Landscape genetic analyses of Cervus elaphus and Sus scrofa: comparative study and analytical developments
Red deer and wild boar are two major game species whose populations are managed and live in areas impacted by human activities. Measuring and understanding the impact of landscape features on individual movements and spatial patterns of genetic variability in these species is thus of importance for managers. A large number of individuals sampled across Wallonia (Belgium) for both species have been genotyped using microsatellite markers (respectively >1700 and >1200 genotyped individuals) and some individuals have also been followed using a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) protocol. The combined data set represents an unprecedented opportunity to study and compare the environmental factors impacting the interconnectivity of these large mammals. The present study describes and uses a landscape genetic workflow to compare spatial patterns of genetic variability and the impact of environmental factors on genetic differentiation. For the latter analyses, we investigate the correlation between genetic and environmental distances (pairwise approach) and also between local genetic dissimilarity and environmental conditions (point approach). Preliminary analyses of CMR data confirm that motorways act as significant barriers to dispersal. However, analyses performed with the pairwise approach do not highlight any evidence of an impact of motorways on genetic differentiation, which is presumably due to their recent establishment. Complementary analyses performed with the point approach reveal that low altitude tends to be associated with higher genetic dissimilarity. From a methodological point of view, the present workflow illustrates the complementary application of both pairwise and point approaches as well as univariate and multivariate analyses.
Data from: Genetic architecture of skeletal evolution in European lake and stream stickleback
Advances in genomic techniques are greatly facilitating the study of molecular signatures of selection in diverging natural populations. Connecting these signatures to phenotypes under selection remains challenging, but benefits from dissections of the genetic architecture of adaptive divergence. We here perform quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping using 488 F2 individuals and 2011 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to explore the genetic architecture of skeletal divergence in a lake-stream stickleback system from Central Europe. We find QTL for gill raker, snout, and head length, vertebral number, and the extent of lateral plating (plate number and height). Although two large-effect loci emerge, QTL effect sizes are generally small. Examining the neighborhood of the QTL-linked SNPs identifies several genes involved in bone formation, which emerge as strong candidate genes for skeletal evolution. Finally, we use SNP data from the natural source populations to demonstrate that some SNPs linked to QTL in our cross also exhibit striking allele frequency differences in the wild, suggesting a causal role of these QTL in adaptive population divergence. Our study paves the way for comparative analyses across other (lake-stream) stickleback populations, and for functional investigations of the candidate genes.
Data from: Effects of brooding and broadcasting reproductive modes on the population genetic structure of two Antarctic gastropod molluscs
Life-history characteristics exert a profound influence upon the population structure of many marine organisms. However, relatively few genetic studies have compared direct with indirect-developing species in the same ecosystem or geographic region, and none to our knowledge within an Antarctic setting. To address this issue we have collected novel Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) data from the direct-developing top shell Margarella antarctica to form a comparison with previously published data for the broadcast-spawning Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna. We scored 270 loci in 240 M. antarctica individuals sampled from five populations spanning the full length of the Antarctic Peninsula. Profound differences were identified in the strength and pattern of population structure between the two species, consistent with gene flow being highly restricted in M. antarctica relative to N. concinna.
Data from: Genetic, morphological and acoustic evidence reveals lack of diversification in the colonization process in an island bird
Songbirds with recently (i.e. early Holocene) founded populations are suitable models for studying incipient differentiation in oceanic islands. On such systems each colonization event represents a different evolutionary episode that can be studied by addressing sets of diverging phenotypic and genetic traits. We investigate the process of early differentiation in the spectacled warbler (Sylvia conspicillata) in 14 populations separated by sea barriers from three Atlantic archipelagos and from continental regions spanning from tropical to temperate latitudes. Our approach involved the study of sexual acoustic signals, morphology and genetic data. Mitochondrial DNA did not provide clear population structure. However, microsatellites analyses consistently identified two genetic groups, albeit without correspondence to subspecies classification and little correspondence to geography. Coalescent analyses showed significant evidence for gene flow between the two genetic groups. Discriminant analyses could not correctly assign morphological or acoustic traits to source populations. Therefore, although theory predicting that in isolated populations genetic, morphological or acoustic traits can lead to radiation, we have strikingly failed to document differentiation on these attributes in a resident passerine throughout three oceanic archipelagos.
Data from: Distinguishing the effects of selection from demographic history in the genetic variation of two sister passerines based on mitochondrial-nuclear comparison
Determining the mechanisms responsible for the distribution of genetic diversity in natural populations has occupied a central role in molecular evolution. Our study was motivated by the unprecedented observation that a widespread Eurasian flycatcher, Ficedula albicilla, exhibited no variation at the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) ND2 gene in 75 individuals sampled over a 5000-km distance. In contrast, its sister species, F. parva, had low but considerably higher levels of mtDNA variation. We assessed whether natural selection or demographic factors could explain the absence of mtDNA variation in F. albicilla. Eighteen nuclear genes were sequenced to estimate the two species' phylogeographic histories, and for comparison to the mtDNA data. Multilocus coalescence analyses suggested that F. albicilla experienced a population expansion perhaps following a population bottleneck. Simulations based on this demographic history, however, did not replicate the extremely low level of mtDNA variation. Historical range changes based on ecological niche models also failed to explain the observed mtDNA patterns. Neutrality tests (DHEW and ML-HKA) suggested a non-neutral pattern in the mtDNA of F. albicilla. We found a transmembrane-skewed distribution of nonsynonymous substitutions between the two species, three of which caused functional change; the results implied that positive selection could have targeted mtDNA. Several lines of evidence support selection rather than demographic history as the main force influencing the patterns of mtDNA variation. Despite the influence of natural selection, many of the phylogeographic inferences derived from mtDNA were robust, including species limits and a high level of gene flow among populations within species.
Data from: Linking genetic kinship and demographic analyses to characterize dispersal: methods and application to Blanding's turtle
Characterizing how frequently, and at what life stages and spatial scales, dispersal occurs can be difficult, especially for species with cryptic juvenile periods and long reproductive life spans. Using a combination of mark–recapture information, microsatellite genetic data, and demographic simulations, we characterize natal and breeding dispersal patterns in the long-lived, slow-maturing, and endangered Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), focusing on nesting females. We captured and genotyped 310 individual Blanding's turtles (including 220 nesting females) in a central Wisconsin population from 2010 to 2013, with additional information on movements among 3 focal nesting areas within this population available from carapace-marking conducted from 2001 to 2009. Mark–recapture analyses indicated that dispersal among the 3 focal nesting areas was infrequent (<0.03 annual probability). Dyads of females with inferred first-order relationships were more likely to be found within the same nesting area than split between areas, and the proportion of related dyads declined with increasing distance among nesting areas. The observed distribution of related dyads for nesting females was consistent with a probability of natal dispersal at first breeding between nearby nesting areas of approximately 0.1 based on demographic simulations. Our simulation-based estimates of infrequent female dispersal were corroborated by significant spatial genetic autocorrelation among nesting females at scales of <500 m. Nevertheless, a lack of spatial genetic autocorrelation among non-nesting turtles (males and females) suggested extensive local connectivity, possibly mediated by male movements or long-distance movements made by females between terrestrial nesting areas and aquatic habitats. We show here that coupling genetic and demographic information with simulations of individual-based population models can be an effective approach for untangling the contributions of natal and breeding dispersal to spatial ecology.
Data from: The power of evolutionary rescue is constrained by genetic load
Extinction risk of small isolated populations in changing environments can be reduced by rapid adaptation and subsequent growth to larger, less vulnerable sizes. Whether this process, called evolutionary rescue, is able to reduce extinction risk and sustain population growth over multiple generations is largely unknown. To understand the consequences of adaptive evolution as well as maladaptive processes in small isolated populations, we subjected experimental Tribolium castaneum populations founded with 10 or 40 individuals to novel environments, one more favorable, and one resource poor, and either allowed evolution, or constrained it by replacing individuals one-for-one each generation from a non-adapting large population to minimize both adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary processes. Replacement individuals spent one generation in the target novel environment before use to standardize effects due to the parental environment. After 8 generations we mixed a subset of surviving populations to facilitate admixture, allowing us to estimate drift load by comparing performance of mixed to unmixed groups. Evolving populations had reduced extinction rates, and increased population sizes in the first four to five generations compared to populations where evolution was constrained. Performance of evolving populations subsequently declined. Admixture restored their performance, indicating high drift load that may have overwhelmed the beneficial effects of adaptation in evolving populations. Our results indicate that evolution may quickly reduce extinction risk and increase population sizes, but suggest that relying solely on adaptation from standing genetic variation may not provide long-term benefits to small isolated populations of diploid sexual species, and that active management facilitating gene flow may be necessary for longer-term persistence.
Data from: Genetic footprints of adaptive divergence in the bracovirus of Cotesia sesamiae identified by targeted resequencing
The African parasitoid wasp Cotesia sesamiae is structured in contrasted populations showing differences in host range and the recent discovery of a specialist related species, C. typhae, provide a good framework to study the mechanisms that link the parasitoid and their host range. To investigate the genomic bases of divergence between these populations, we used a targeted sequencing approach on 24 samples. We targeted a specific genomic region encoding the bracovirus, which is deeply involved in the interaction with the host. High sequencing coverage was obtained for all samples allowing the study of genetic variations between wasp populations and species. Combining population genetic estimations, the diversity (π), the relative differentiation (FST) and the absolute differentiation (dxy), and branch-site dN/dS measures, we identified six divergent genes impacted by positive selection belonging to different gene families. These genes are potentially involved in host adaptation and in the specialization process. Fine scale analyses of the genetic variations also revealed deleterious mutations and large deletions on certain genes inducing pseudogenization and loss of function. These results highlight the crucial role of the bracovirus in the molecular interactions between the wasp and its hosts and in the evolutionary processes of specialization.
Data from: Chaotic genetic patchiness without sweepstakes reproduction in the shore crab Hemigrapsus oregonensis
Fine-scale spatial and temporal variation in the genetic composition of benthic recruits, known as chaotic genetic patchiness, is often observed in marine and estuarine species with planktonic larvae. Several explanations have been proposed for chaotic genetic patchiness, including sweepstakes reproductive success, variability in larval source and natural selection. In a survey of the green shore crab Hemigrapsus oregonensis in Bodega Bay, California, allele frequencies at a mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphism were found to differ significantly among samples of first stage zoeae and between zoeae and adults. Sweepstakes reproductive success is unlikely to be responsible because the fecundity of this species is too low and there was no reduction in genetic diversity among zoeae. In principle, influxes of larvae from genetically distinct populations over 500 km to the north could have caused these differences; however, coalescent estimates indicated that gene flow from these distant populations has been very low and it is unlikely that first stage zoeae would have been transported such great distances. The possibility remains that natural selection, directly or indirectly, is responsible for the observed patchiness in mitochondrial allele frequencies.
Data from: Genetics of gene expression responses to temperature stress in a sea urchin gene network
Stress responses play an important role in shaping species distributions and robustness to climate change. We investigated how stress responses alter the contribution of additive genetic variation to gene expression during development of the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, under increased temperatures that model realistic climate change scenarios. We first measured gene expression responses in the embryos by RNA-seq to characterize molecular signatures of mild, chronic temperature stress. We found that an increase from 12 °C to 18 °C caused widespread alterations in gene expression including in genes involved in protein folding, RNA processing, and development. To understand the quantitative genetic architecture of this response, we then focused on a well-characterized gene network involved in endomesoderm and ectoderm specification. Using a breeding design with wild-caught individuals, we measured genetic and gene-environment interaction effects on 72 genes within this network. We found genetic or maternal effects in 33 of these genes, and that the genetic effects were correlated in the network. 14 network genes also responded to higher temperatures, but we found no significant genotype-environment interactions in any of the genes. This absence may be due to an effective buffering of the temperature perturbations within the network. In support of this hypothesis, perturbations to regulatory genes did not affect the expression of the genes that they regulate. Together, these results provide novel insights into the relationship between environmental change and developmental evolution and suggest that climate change may not expose large amounts of cryptic genetic variation to selection in this species.
Data from: Hierarchical analysis of genetic structure in the habitat-specialist Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida)
Quantifying spatial genetic structure can reveal the relative influences of contemporary and historic factors underlying localized and regional patterns of genetic diversity and gene flow – important considerations for the development of effective conservation efforts. Using 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci, we characterize genetic variation among populations across the range of the Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida), a small riverine percid that is highly dependent on sandy substrate microhabitats. We tested for fine scale, regional, and historic patterns of genetic structure. As expected, significant differentiation was detected among rivers within drainages and among drainages. At finer scales, an unexpected lack of within-river genetic structure among fragmented sandy microhabitats suggests that stratified dispersal resulting from unstable sand bar habitat degradation (natural and anthropogenic) may preclude substantial genetic differentiation within rivers. Among-drainage genetic structure indicates that postglacial (14 kya) drainage connectivity continues to influence contemporary genetic structure among Eastern Sand Darter populations in southern Ontario. These results provide an unexpected contrast to other benthic riverine fish in the Great Lakes drainage and suggest that habitat-specific fishes, such as the Eastern Sand Darter, can evolve dispersal strategies that overcome fragmented and temporally unstable habitats.
Data from: Approaches to integrating genetic data into ecological networks
As molecular tools for assessing trophic interactions become common, research is increasingly focused on the construction of interaction networks. Here we demonstrate three key methods for incorporating DNA data into network ecology and discuss analytical considerations using a model consisting of plants, insects, bats and their parasites from the Costa Rican dry forest. The simplest method involves the use of Sanger sequencing to acquire long sequences to validate or refine field identifications, for example of bats and their parasites, where one specimen yields one sequence and one identification. This method can be fully quantified and resolved and these data resemble traditional ecological networks. For more complex taxonomic identifications, we target multiple DNA loci e.g. from a seed or fruit pulp sample in faeces. These networks are also well resolved but gene targets vary in resolution and quantification is difficult. Finally for mixed templates such as faecal contents of insectivorous bats we use DNA metabarcoding targeting two sequence lengths (157bp, 407bp) of one gene region and a MOTU, BLAST and BIN association approach to resolve nodes. This network type is complex to generate and analyse and we discuss the implications of this type of resolution on network analysis. Using these data we construct the first molecular-based network of networks containing 3304 interactions between 762 nodes of 8 trophic functions and involving parasitic, mutualistic, and predatory interactions. We provide a comparison of the relative strengths and weaknesses of these data types in network ecology.
Insights into the genetic architecture of sexual dimorphism from an interspecific cross between two diverging Silene (Caryophyllaceae) species
<p class="Cuerpo">The evolution of sexual dimorphism in species with separate sexes is influenced by the resolution of sexual conflicts creating sex differences through genetic linkage or sex-biased expression. Plants with different degrees of sexual dimorphism are thus ideal to study the genetic basis of sexual dimorphism. In this study we explore the genetic architecture of sexual dimorphism between <i>Silene latifolia </i>and<i> S. dioica. </i>These species have chromosomal sex determination and differ in the extent of sexual dimorphism. To test whether QTL for sexually dimorphic traits have accumulated on the sex chromosomes and to quantify their contribution to species differences, we create a linkage map and performed QTL analysis of life history, flower and vegetative traits using an unidirectional interspecific F2 hybrid cross. We found support for an accumulation of QTL on the sex chromosomes and that sex differences explained a large proportion of the variance between species, suggesting that both natural and sexual selection contributed to species divergence. Sexually dimorphic traits that also differed between species displayed transgressive segregation. We observed a reversal in sexual dimorphism in the F2 population, where males tended to be larger than females, indicating that sexual dimorphism is constrained within populations but not in recombinant hybrids. This study contributes to the understanding of the genetic basis of sexual dimorphism and its evolution in <i>Silene.</i></p>
Data from: Untangling the evolutionary history of a highly polymorphic species: introgressive hybridization and high genetic structure in the desert cichlid fish Herichthys minckleyi
Understanding the origin of biodiversity requires knowledge on the evolutionary processes that drive divergence and speciation, as well as on the processes constraining it. Intraspecific polymorphisms can provide insight into the mechanisms that generate and maintain phenotypic, behavioural and life history diversification, and can help us understand not only the processes that lead to speciation but also the processes that prevent local fixation of morphs. The 'desert cichlid' Herichtys minckleyi is a highly polymorphic species endemic to a biodiversity hotspot in northern Mexico, the Cuatro Ciénegas valley. This species is polymorphic in body shape and trophic apparatus, and eco-morphotypes coexist in small spring-fed lagoons across the valley. We investigated the genetic structure of these polymorphisms and their phylogeographic history by analysing the entire control region of the mitochondrial DNA and 10 nuclear microsatellite markers in several populations from different sites and morphs. We found two very divergent mitochondrial lineages that most likely predate the closing of the valley and are not associated with morphotypes or sites. One of these lineages is also found in the sister species Herichthys cyanoguttatus. Data from neutral microsatellite markers suggest that most lagoons or drainages constitute their own genetic cluster with sympatric eco-morphotypes forming panmictic populations. Alternative mechanisms such as phenotypic plasticity and a few loci controlled traits provide possible explanations for the sympatric coexistence of discrete nonoverlapping eco-morphotypes with apparent lack of barriers to gene flow within multiple lagoons and drainages.
Data from: Genetic evidence of hybridization between the critically endangered Cuban crocodile and the American crocodile: implications for population history and in situ/ex situ conservation
Inter-specific hybridization may be especially detrimental when one species is extremely rare and the other is abundant owing to the potential for genetic swamping. The Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is a critically endangered island endemic largely restricted to Zapata Swamp, where it is sympatric with the widespread American crocodile (C. acutus). An on-island, C. rhombifer captive breeding program is underway with the goals of maintaining taxonomic integrity and providing a source of individuals for reintroduction, but its conservation value is limited by lack of genetic information. Here we collected mtDNA haplotypic and nuclear genotypic data from wild and captive C. rhombifer and C. acutus in Cuba to: (1) investigate the degree of inter-specific hybridization in natural (in situ) and captive (ex situ) populations; (2) quantify the extent, distribution and in situ representation of genetic variation ex situ; and (3) reconstruct founder relatedness to inform management. We found high levels of hybridization in the wild (49.1%) and captivity (16.1%), and additional evidence for a cryptic lineage of C. acutus in the Antilles. We detected marginally higher observed heterozygosity and allelic diversity ex situ relative to the wild population, with captive C. rhombifer exhibiting over twice the frequency of private alleles. Although mean relatedness was high in captivity, we identified 37 genetically important individuals that possessed individual mean kinship (MK) values lower than the population MK. Overall, these results will guide long-term conservation management of Cuban crocodiles for maintaining the genetic integrity and viability of this species of high global conservation value.
Data from: De novo characterization of the Timema cristinae transcriptome facilitates marker discovery and inference of genetic divergence.
Adaptation to different ecological environments can promote speciation. Although numerous examples of such 'ecological speciation' exist, the genomic basis of the process, and the role of gene flow in it, remains less understood. This is, at least in part, because systems that are well characterized in terms of their ecology often lack genomic resources. In this study we characterize the transcriptome of Timema cristinae stick insects, a system that has been researched intensively in terms of ecological speciation, but for which genomic resources have not been previously developed. Specifically, we obtained >1 million 454 sequencing reads that assembled into 84,937 contigs representing approximately 18,282 unique genes and tens of thousands of potential molecular markers. Second, as an illustration of their utility, we used these genomic resources to assess multi-locus genetic divergence within both an ecotype pair and a species pair of Timema stick insects. The results suggest variable levels of genetic divergence and gene flow among taxon pairs and genes and illustrate a first step towards future genomic work in Timema.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.