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PubMed2001

Microsatellite diversity predicts recruitment of sibling great reed warblers.

Inbreeding increases the level of homozygosity, which in turn might depress fitness. In addition, individuals having the same inbreeding coefficient (e.g. siblings) vary in homozygosity. The potential fitness effects of variation in homozygosity that is unrelated to the inbreeding coefficient have seldom been examined. Here, we present evidence from wild birds that genetic variation at five microsatellite loci predicts the recruitment success of siblings. Dyads of full-sibling great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus), one individual of which became a recruit to the natal population while the other did not return, were selected for the analysis. Each dyad was matched for sex and size. Local recruitment is strongly tied to fitness in great reed warblers as the majority of offspring die before adulthood, philopatry predominates among surviving individuals and emigrants have lower lifetime fitness. Paired tests showed that recruited individuals had higher individual heterozygosity and higher genetic diversity, which was measured as the mean squared distance between microsatellite alleles (mean d(2)), than their non-recruited siblings. These relationships suggest that the microsatellite markers, which are generally assumed to be neutral, cosegregated with genes exhibiting genetic variation for fitness.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Contrasting genetic structure of adults and progeny in a Louisiana iris hybrid population.

Studies of natural hybridization have suggested that it may be a creative stimulus for adaptive evolution and speciation. An important step in this process is the establishment of fit recombinant genotypes that are buffered from subsequent recombination with unlike genotypes. We used molecular markers and a two-generation sampling strategy to infer the extent of recombination in a Louisiana iris hybrid zone consisting predominantly of Iris fulva-type floral phenotypes. Genotypic diversity was fairly high, indicating that sexual reproduction is frequent relative to clonal reproduction. However, we observed strong spatial genetic structure even after controlling for clonality, which implies a low level of pollen and seed dispersal. We therefore used cluster analysis to explore the hypothesis that the fulva-type hybrids are an admixture of groups between which there has been limited recombination. Our results indicate that several such groups are present in the population and are strongly localized spatially. This spatial pattern is not attributable strictly to a lack of mating opportunities between dissimilar genotypes for two reasons: (1) relatedness of flowering pairs was uncorrelated with the degree of overlap in flowering, and (2) paternity analysis shows that pollen movement among the outcross fraction occurred over large distances, with roughly half of all paternity attributed to pollen flow from outside the population. We also found evidence of strong inbreeding depression, indicated by contrasting estimates of the rate of self-fertilization and the average inbreeding coefficient of fulva-type hybrids. We conclude that groups of similar hybrid genotypes can be buffered from recombination at small spatial scales relative to pollen flow, and selection against certain recombinant genotypes may be as important as or more important than clonal reproduction and inbreeding.

Cluster Analysis↗
PubMed1980

Immunogenetic and population genetic analyses of Iberian cattle.

Blood samples were collected from more than 100 animals in each of 2 Spanish cattle breeds (Retinto and De Lidia), 2 Portuguese breeds (Alentejana and Mertolenga), and American Longhorn cattle. All samples for the 4 Iberian breeds were tested for 20 polymorphic systems; American Longhorn were tested for 19 of the 20. For each breed an average inbreeding coefficient was estimated by a comparison of the observed and expected heterozygosity at 7 or 8 codominant systems tested. All breeds had positive values but only 3 breeds had estimates of inbreeding that were statistically significantly different from 0: De Lidia with f = 0.17, Retinto with f = 0.08 and Mertolenga with f = 0.05. The De Lidia breed especially may be suffering from inbreeding depression since this high value is greater than expected if all of the animals were progeny of half-sib matings. Genetic distances were calculated from the gene frequency data on these 5 breeds plus 9 other European breeds. Analyses of these distances show a closely related group of the 4 Iberian breeds and American Longhorn, confirming the close relationships among the Iberian breeds and the Iberian, probably Portuguese, origin of American Longhorn cattle.

Alleles↗
PubMed1994

Modelling problems in conservation genetics using Drosophila: consequences of fluctuating population sizes.

Many natural populations fluctuate widely in population size. This is predicted to reduce effective population size, genetic variation, and reproductive fitness, and to increase inbreeding. The effects of fluctuating population size were examined in small populations of Drosophila melanogaster of the same average size, but maintained using either fluctuating (FPS) or equal (EPS) population sizes. FPS lines were maintained using seven pairs and one pair in alternate generations, and EPS lines with four pairs per generation. Ten replicates of each treatment were maintained. After eight generations, FPS had a higher inbreeding coefficient than EPS (0.60 vs. 0.38), a lower average allozyme heterozygosity (0.068 vs. 0.131), and a much lower relative fitness (0.03 vs. 0.25). Estimates of effective population sizes for FPS and EPS were 3.8 and 7.9 from pedigree inbreeding, and 4.9 vs. 7.1 from changes in average heterozygosities, as compared to theoretical expectations of 3.3 vs. 8.0. Results were generally in accordance with theoretical predictions. Management strategies for populations of rare and endangered species should aim to minimize population fluctuations over generations.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Temporal and spatial genetic structure in Vitellaria paradoxa (shea tree) in an agroforestry system in southern Mali.

Ten microsatellite loci were used to investigate the impact of human activity on the spatial and temporal genetic structure of Vitellaria paradoxa (Sapotaceae), a parkland tree species in agroforestry systems in southern Mali. Two stands (forest and fallow) and three cohorts (adults, juveniles and natural regeneration) in each stand were studied to: (i) compare their levels of genetic diversity (gene diversity, HE; allelic richness, Rs; and inbreeding, FIS); (ii) assess their genetic differentiation (FST); and (iii) compare their levels of spatial genetic structuring. Gene diversity parameters did not vary substantially among stands or cohorts, and tests for bottleneck events were nonsignificant. The inbreeding coefficients were not significantly different from zero in most cases (FIS = -0.025 in forest and 0.045 in fallow), suggesting that the species is probably outbreeding. There was a weak decrease in F(IS) with age, suggesting inbreeding depression. Differentiation of stands within each cohort was weak (FST = 0.026, 0.0005, 0.010 for adults, juveniles and regeneration, respectively), suggesting extensive gene flow. Cohorts within each stand were little differentiated (FST = -0.001 and 0.001 in forest and fallow, respectively). The spatial genetic structure was more pronounced in fallow than in forest where adults showed no spatial structuring. In conclusion, despite the huge influence of human activity on the life cycle of Vitellaria paradoxa growing in parkland systems, the impact on the pattern of genetic variation at microsatellite loci appears rather limited, possibly due to the buffering effect of extensive gene flow between unmanaged and managed populations.

Demography↗
PubMed2004

Genetic structure of nest aggregations and drone congregations of the southeast Asian stingless bee Trigona collina.

In stingless bees, sex is determined by a single complementary sex-determining locus. This method of sex determination imposes a severe cost of inbreeding because an egg fertilized by sperm carrying the same sex allele as the egg results in a sterile diploid male. To explore how reproductive strategies may be used to avoid inbreeding in stingless bees, we studied the genetic structure of a population of 27 colonies and three drone congregations of Trigona collina in Chanthaburi, Thailand. The colonies were distributed across six nest aggregations, each aggregation located in the base of a different fig tree. Genetic analysis at eight microsatellite loci showed that colonies within aggregations were not related. Samples taken from three drone congregations showed that the males were drawn from a large number of colonies (estimated to be 132 different colonies in our largest swarm). No drone had a genotype indicating that it could have originated from the colony that it was directly outside. Combined, these results suggest that movements of drones and possibly movements of reproductive swarms among colony aggregations provide two mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Colony structure and parentage in wild colonies of co-operatively breeding Damaraland mole-rats suggest incest avoidance alone may not maintain reproductive skew.

Colonies of co-operatively breeding African mole-rats have traditionally been thought to be composed of a single breeding female, one or two breeding males, and their offspring. In the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber), the occurrence of facultative inbreeding means incest avoidance cannot prevent reproduction in subordinate group members, and physiological suppression of reproductive function by the breeding female occurs in both sexes. In contrast, previous studies of captive colonies of the Damaraland mole-rat (Cryptomys damarensis) suggest that breeding within a colony is restricted to a single breeding pair, simply because all other colony members are highly related (first- or second-order relatives) and this species is an obligate outbreeder. Using microsatellite markers, we investigated parentage and colony composition in 18 wild Damaraland mole-rat colonies to determine whether inbreeding avoidance alone can explain the high levels of reproductive skew in this species. Multiple and unidentified paternity was widespread within colonies and immigrants of both sexes were regularly identified. Unrelated, opposite-sex nonbreeders were found coexisting in two colonies. These results suggest that, in the wild, conditions exist where nonreproductive females can come into contact with unrelated males, even when they do not disperse from their natal colony. Inbreeding avoidance alone is therefore insufficient to maintain the high levels of reproductive skew identified in this species suggesting that the breeding female somehow suppresses the reproductive function in nonbreeding females.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Synergistic epistasis and alternative hypotheses.

Inbreeding generally results in deleterious shifts in mean fitness. If the fitness response to increasing inbreeding coefficient is non-linear, this suggests a contribution of epistasis to inbreeding depression. In a cross-breeding experiment, Salathe & Ebert (2003. J. Evol. Biol. 16: 976-985) tested and found the presence of this non-linearity in Daphnia magna. They argue that epistatic interactions cause this non-linearity. We argue here that their experimental protocol does not allow disentangling the effect of synergistic epistasis from two alternative hypotheses, namely hybrid vigour and statistical non-independence of data.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Stress and adaptation in conservation genetics.

Stress, adaptation and evolution are major concerns in conservation biology. Stresses from pollution, climatic changes, disease etc. may affect population persistence. Further, stress typically occurs when species are placed in captivity. Threatened species are usually managed to conserve their ability to adapt to environmental changes, whilst species in captivity undergo adaptations that are deleterious upon reintroduction into the wild. In model studies using Drosophila melanogaster, we have found that; (a) inbreeding and loss of genetic variation reduced resistance to the stress of disease, (b) extinction rates under inbreeding are elevated by stress, (c) adaptive evolutionary potential in an increasingly stressful environment is reduced in small population, (d) rates of inbreeding are elevated under stressful conditions, (e) genetic adaptation to captivity reduces fitness when populations are reintroduced into the 'wild', and (f) the deleterious effects of adaptation on reintroduction success can be reduced by population fragmentation.

Adaptation, Biological↗
PubMed2006

Analysis of pedigree and conformation data to explain genetic variability of the horse breed Franches-Montagnes.

Franches-Montagnes is the only native horse breed in Switzerland, therefore special efforts should be made for ensuring its survival. The objectives of this study were to characterize the structure of this population as well as genetic variability with pedigree data, conformation traits and molecular markers. Studies were focused to clarify if this population is composed of a heavy- and a light-type subpopulation. Extended pedigree records of 3-year-old stallions (n = 68) and mares (n = 108) were available. Evaluations of body conformation traits as well as pedigree data and molecular markers did not support the two-subpopulation hypothesis. The generation interval ranged from 7.8 to 9.3 years. The complete generation equivalent was high (>12). The number of effective ancestors varied between 18.9 and 20.1, whereof 50% of the genetic variability was attributed to seven of them. Genetic contribution of Warmblood horses ranged from 36% to 42% and that of Coldblood horses from 4% to 6%. The average inbreeding coefficient reached 6%. Inbreeding effective population size was 114.5 when the average increase of the inbreeding coefficient per year since 1910 was taken. Our results suggest that bottleneck situations occurred because of selection of a small number of sire lines. Promotion of planned matings between parents that are less related is recommended in order to avoid a reduction of the genetic diversity.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Total number of individuals affected by deleterious mutant genes in a finite population.

The means and standard errors of the total numbers of heterozygotes and homozygotes affected by deleterious mutant genes and the extinction time are studied by using diffusion methods. For an overdominant mutation, the effects of an increase in population size on these quantitites are much more profound than that of an increase in initial number of mutant genes whereas for a partially recessive mutation the situation is reversed. For a completely recessive mutation, the expected total number of mutant homozygotes is independent of the population size and degree of inbreeding, though the expected total number of heterozygotes and the average extinction time are dependent on these factors, particularly the population size. The effect of inbreeding on these quantitites is very similar to that of reduction in effective population size and is usally small at the prevailing level of inbreeding, except for mutations with large degrees of overdominance in large populations. The standard errors of these quantities are large. The expected total number of sickle-cell mutant homozygotes in the U.S. population has been computed.

Gene Frequency↗
PubMed2005

Reproductive compensation in the evolution of plant mating systems.

Reproductive compensation, the replacement of dead embryos by potentially viable ones, is known to play a major role in the maintenance of deleterious mutations in mammalian populations. However, it has received little attention in plant evolution. Here we model the joint evolution of mating system and inbreeding depression with reproductive compensation. We used a dynamic model of inbreeding depression, allowing for partial purging of recessive lethal mutations by selfing. We showed that reproductive compensation tended to increase the mean number of lethals in a population, but favored self-fertilization by effectively decreasing early inbreeding depression. When compensation depended on the selfing rate, stable mixed mating systems can occur, with low to intermediate selfing rates. Experimental evidence of reproductive compensation is required to confirm its potential importance in the evolution of plant mating systems. We suggest experimental methods to detect reproductive compensation.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1995

A male-biased natal sex-ratio in inbred collared lemmings, Dicrostonyx groenlandicus.

A captive colony of collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) from northern Alaska produced a male-biased sex ratio of 67% males for about three generations. These lemmings have a pair of autosomes fused to the sex chromosomes. Thus, males have two copies of some (formerly autosomal) sex-linked genes: One set is X-linked; the other can be described as Y-linked. Given such a karyotype, deleterious recessive alleles on the autosomal portion of the X chromosome are more resistant to selection than truly autosomal loci because they can be eliminated by homozygosity only in females. The male-bias could have resulted from one or more lethals carried on the formerly autosomal arm of the X chromosome. As inbreeding coefficients approached 0.3, the lethal was apparently homozygous in half of the homogametic (female) zygotes. This phenomenon may explain the excess of males and XY females attributed to meiotic drive in Dicrostonyx torquatus from Siberia. If under the natural mating system, inbreeding depression limits fitness, then fusion of autosomal chromatin to the sex chromosomes could be an adaptation to reduce inbreeding depression in heterogametic individuals.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1994

Dysphagia-associated muscular dystrophy: a familial trait in the bouvier des Flandres.

Among a group of dysphagic dogs the bouvier des Flandres was overrepresented. The results of a clinical examination, contrast videofluorography and electromyography of the pharyngeal, laryngeal and oesophageal muscles were similar in all the bouviers, and a histological examination of tissues from 10 of them revealed muscular dystrophy as the cause of the dysphagia. A study of the affected dogs' pedigrees revealed that they were descendants of one closely related group of ancestors, and that the inbreeding levels for this ancestor group were higher than in a control population of 136 bouviers. The homozygosity due to inbreeding for this ancestor group was higher in the affected dogs than in the control dogs, but the homozygosity due to all other ancestry was equal in the two groups. The relative risk of developing dysphagia-associated muscular dystrophy was up to 16 times greater in these bouviers, depending on the level of inbreeding for the closely related ancestor group.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Genetic variation in spontaneous ovulation rate and LH receptor induction in mice.

Selection for litter size (Line S1) and for post-weaning body weight gain (Line G) increased spontaneous ovulation rate in mature females by 69 and 73%, respectively, over that of randomly bred control mice (Line C). Inbreeding from S1 mice with selection for litter size produced highly inbred lines with elevated ovulation rates. Inbreeding from Line C mice produced a 21% divergence among lines, but did not depress the mean ovulation rate. Crosses of these lines revealed little heterosis in ovulation rate. LH receptors were induced by treating females from 22 days of age with diethylstilboestrol for 4 days and FSH for 2 days. The in-vitro binding of 125I-labelled hCG per microgram DNA decreased 56% in response to selection for litter size and increased 57% in response to selection for body weight gain, indicating high susceptibility of this trait to genetic change. Inbreeding from Line C mice produced a 135% divergence amongst lines, but did not depress the mean LH receptor induction. Body weight had significant effects on ovulation rate and LH receptor induction. These results show that selection for litter size and for rapid post-weaning body weight gain increases ovulation rate, but we suggest that different mechanisms are involved in these responses.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Inheritance of rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament in Newfoundlands.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence, level of inbreeding, heritability, and mode of inheritance for rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (RCCL) in Newfoundlands. DESIGN: Retrospective and recruitment study. ANIMALS: 574 client-owned Newfoundlands. PROCEDURE: Medical records from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 2002, were evaluated for prevalence of RCCL. A pedigree was constructed by use of recruited Newfoundlands with RCCL status based on results of veterinary examination; level of inbreeding, heritability, and mode of inheritance were calculated. RESULTS: Hospital prevalence for RCCL was 22%; dogs in the pedigree from the recruitment study had a mean level of inbreeding of 1.19 x 10(4), heritability of 0.27, and a possible recessive mode of inheritance with 51% penetrance for RCCL. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Identification of a genetic basis for RCCL in Newfoundlands provided evidence that investigators can now focus on developing methods to identify carriers to reduce the prevalence of RCCL.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Ten-year linear trends in reproduction and wool production among inbred and noninbred lines of Rambouillet, Targhee, and Columbia sheep.

To investigate the value of creating inbred lines for genetic improvement of sheep, 54 inbred, 1 randombred control, and 3 noninbred control lines were evaluated for lamb and wool production. Results were based on 19,438 dam and 23,625 lamb records from Rambouillet (R), Targhee (T), and Columbia (C) sheep collected over 9 yr (for T and C) and 10 yr (for R), starting in 1954. Average inbreeding in the inbred lines during the period was near 25% for lambs and 20% for ewes. The general trend in inbred lines for litter weight weaned (120 d) and number weaned (net reproductive rate), per ewe exposed to breeding, was downward as inbreeding increased. Trends in fleece weight generally also were down, regardless of concomitant increases in body weight. Declines were most pronounced in two lines developed by rapid inbreeding. Reproductive merit in the R and C noninbred controls also declined, but the declines were less than those for most inbred lines. Although the T noninbred control declined in fleece weight, trends for fleece weight in the R and C controls were positive and significantly different from the negative trends in the inbred lines. For the randombred control, slight downward trends in litter weight and number weaned were less (P < .05) than those for most inbred lines, indicating genetic declines in these traits for most inbred lines. Direct selection for an index of overall phenotypic merit, recurrent selection for combining ability for overall merit, and direct selection for body type, clean fleece weight, or staple length were all ineffective in preventing a decline in reproductive merit. Ending means (last 2 yr of production) revealed that litter weight weaned in the control groups of each breed was clearly superior to that in most inbred lines. Controls also were typically superior for fleece and body weight. Not one of the 54 inbred lines was superior (P < .05) to its respective noninbred control in weight of lamb weaned or net reproductive rate. Only four of the inbred lines were superior to the noninbred controls in fleece weight. These results, after at least 23 yr of development for most lines, reflect little encouragement for the costly development of many inbred lines for the purpose of improving lamb and wool production, especially when using the above selection criteria.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Estimation of dominance variance in purebred Yorkshire swine.

We used 179,485 Yorkshire reproductive and 239,354 Yorkshire growth records to estimate additive and dominance variances by Method Fraktur R. Estimates were obtained for number born alive (NBA), 21-d litter weight (LWT), days to 104.5 kg (DAYS), and backfat at 104.5 kg (BF). The single-trait models for NBA and LWT included the fixed effects of contemporary group and regression on inbreeding percentage and the random effects mate within contemporary group, animal permanent environment, animal additive, and parental dominance. The single-trait models for DAYS and BF included the fixed effects of contemporary group, sex, and regression on inbreeding percentage and the random effects litter of birth, dam permanent environment, animal additive, and parental dominance. Final estimates were obtained from six samples for each trait. Regression coefficients for 10% inbreeding were found to be -.23 for NBA, -.52 kg for LWT, 2.1 d for DAYS, and 0 mm for BF. Estimates of additive and dominance variances expressed as a percentage of phenotypic variances were, respectively, 8.8 +/- .5 and 2.2 +/- .7 for NBA, 8.1 +/- 1.1 and 6.3 +/- .9 for LWT, 33.2 +/- .4 and 10.3 +/- 1.5 for DAYS, and 43.6 +/- .9 and 4.8 +/- .7 for BF. The ratio of dominance to additive variances ranged from .78 to .11.

Adipose Tissue↗