Genetic variation drives seasonal onset of hibernation in the 13-lined ground squirrel

Hibernation in sciurid rodents is a dynamic phenotype timed by a circannual clock. When housed in an animal facility, 13-lined ground squirrels exhibit variation in seasonal onset of hibernation, which is not explained by environmental or biological factors. We hypothesized that genetic factors inst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communications biology 2019-12, Vol.2 (1), p.478
Main Authors: Grabek, Katharine R, Cooke, Thomas F, Epperson, L Elaine, Spees, Kaitlyn K, Cabral, Gleyce F, Sutton, Shirley C, Merriman, Dana K, Martin, Sandra L, Bustamante, Carlos D
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Hibernation in sciurid rodents is a dynamic phenotype timed by a circannual clock. When housed in an animal facility, 13-lined ground squirrels exhibit variation in seasonal onset of hibernation, which is not explained by environmental or biological factors. We hypothesized that genetic factors instead drive variation in timing. After increasing genome contiguity, here, we employ a genotype-by-sequencing approach to characterize genetic variation in 153 ground squirrels. Combined with datalogger records (n = 72), we estimate high heritability (61-100%) for hibernation onset. Applying a genome-wide scan with 46,996 variants, we identify 2 loci significantly (p 
ISSN:2399-3642