Conservation genomics of the endangered Burmese roofed turtle

• Published in: Conservation biology 2017-12, Vol.31 (6), p.1469-1476
• Main Authors: Çilingir, F. Gözde, Rheindt, Frank E., Garg, Kritika M., Platt, Kalyar, Platt, Steven G., Bickford, David P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal populations; Animals; Batagur; Batagur trivittata; Birmania; Breeding; Burma; Conservation; conservation genomics; Conservation of Natural Resources; ddRAD‐Seq; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA sequences; DNA sequencing; Eggs; Endangered & extinct species; Endangered Species; Female; Fertility; Genetic Variation; Genomes; genética de la conservación; Inbreeding; Male; Myanmar; Nucleotides; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Population bottleneck; Population number; Reptiles & amphibians; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Tissue; Turtles; Turtles - genetics; Wildlife conservation
• ISSN: 0888-8892; 1523-1739
• DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12921

The Burmese roofed turtle (Batagur trivittata) is one of the world's most endangered turtles. Only one wild population remains in Myanmar. There are thought to be 12 breeding turtles in the wild. Conservation efforts for the species have raised >700 captive turtles since 2002, predominantly from eggs collected in the wild. We collected tissue samples from 445 individuals (approximately 40% of the turtles' remaining global population), applied double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-Seq), and obtaine approximately 1500 unlinked genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms. Individuals fell into 5 distinct genetic clusters, 4 of which represented full-sib families. We inferred a low effective population size (≤10 individuals) but did not detect signs of severe inbreeding, possibly because the population bottleneck occurred recently. Two groups of 30 individuals from the captive pool that were the most genetically diverse were reintroduced to the wild, leading to an increase in the number of fertile eggs (n = 27) in the wild. Another 25 individuals, selected based on the same criteria, were transferred to the Singapore Zoo as an assurance colony. Our study demonstrates that the research-to-application gap in conservation can be bridged through application of cutting-edge genomic methods. La tortuga rugosa birmana (Batagur trivittata) es una de las tortugas en mayor peligro de extinción de todo el mundo. En Myanmar sólo permanece una población silvestre. Se cree que existen 12 tortugas reproductoras en vida libre. Los esfuerzos de conservación para la especie han criado > 700 tortugas en cautiverio desde 2002, principalmente a partir de huevos recolectados del hábitat natural. Colectamos muestras de tejido de 445 individuos (aproximadamente 40% de la permaneciente población mundial de la tortuga), aplicamos una secuenciación de ADN asociado de digestión-doble restringida al sitio (ddRAD-Seq, en inglés) y obtuvimos aproximadamente 1500 polimorfismos de nucleotido único, sin conexión y del ancho del genoma. Los individuos cayeron dentro de cinco agrupamientos genéticos distintos, cuatro de los cuales representaron familias de hermanos completos. Inferimos un tamaño reducido de población efectiva (≤10 individuos) pero no detectamos señales de endogamia severa, posiblemente porque el cuello de botella poblacional ocurrió recientemente. Dos grupos de 30 individuos del pool en cautiverio, que fueron los más diversos genéticamente, fueron reint