Development of SNP markers identifying European wildcats, domestic cats, and their admixed progeny

Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular ecology resources 2013-05, Vol.13 (3), p.447-460
Main Authors: Nussberger, B., Greminger, M. P., Grossen, C., Keller, L. F., Wandeler, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Base Sequence
Biological and medical sciences
Cats - genetics
conservation genetics
DNA, Mitochondrial - genetics
Felis
Felis - genetics
Felis silvestris
Felis silvestris catus
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene Frequency
Gene Library
General aspects
genetic marker
Genetic Markers - genetics
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Genetics, Population
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
hybridization
Hybridization, Genetic - genetics
introgression
Mammalia
Microsatellite Repeats - genetics
Molecular Sequence Data
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics
Population genetics, reproduction patterns
reduced representation library
Species Specificity
Synecology
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
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Summary:Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) is a major concern for the conservation of European wildcats (Felis s. silvestris). The available morphologic and genetic markers for the two Felis subspecies are not sufficient to reliably detect hybrids beyond first generation. Here we present a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based approach that allows the identification of introgressed individuals. Using high‐throughput sequencing of reduced representation libraries we developed a diagnostic marker set containing 48 SNPs (Fst > 0.8) which allows the identification of wildcats, domestic cats, their hybrids and backcrosses. This allows assessing introgression rate in natural wildcat populations and is key for a better understanding of hybridization processes.
ISSN:1755-098X
1755-0998
DOI:10.1111/1755-0998.12075