Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique
Abstract The African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, is a key species in African ecosystems. Like other large herbivores, it plays a fundamental role in its habitat acting as an ecosystem engineer. Over the last few centuries, African buffalo populations have declined because of range contraction and demo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02209-2 |
| _version_ | 1827328842827563008 |
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| author | Paolo Colangelo Marika Di Civita Carlos M. Bento Paolo Franchini Axel Meyer Nadiya Orel Luis C. B. G. das Neves Fernando C. Mulandane Joao S. Almeida Gabriele Senczuk Fabio Pilla Simone Sabatelli |
| author_facet | Paolo Colangelo Marika Di Civita Carlos M. Bento Paolo Franchini Axel Meyer Nadiya Orel Luis C. B. G. das Neves Fernando C. Mulandane Joao S. Almeida Gabriele Senczuk Fabio Pilla Simone Sabatelli |
| author_sort | Paolo Colangelo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, is a key species in African ecosystems. Like other large herbivores, it plays a fundamental role in its habitat acting as an ecosystem engineer. Over the last few centuries, African buffalo populations have declined because of range contraction and demographic decline caused by direct or indirect human activities. In Mozambique, historically home to large buffalo herds, the combined effect of colonialism and subsequent civil wars has created a critical situation that urgently needs to be addressed. In this study, we focused on the analysis of genetic diversity of Syncerus caffer caffer populations from six areas of Mozambique. Using genome-wide SNPs obtained from ddRAD sequencing, we examined the population structure across the country, estimated gene flow between areas under conservation management, including national reserves, and assessed the inbreeding coefficients. Our results indicate that all studied populations of Syncerus caffer caffer are genetically depauperate, with a high level of inbreeding. Moreover, buffaloes in Mozambique present a significant population differentiation between southern and central areas. We found an unexpected genotype in the Gorongosa National Park, where buffaloes experienced a dramatic population size reduction, that shares a common ancestry with southern populations of Catuane and Namaacha. This could suggest the past occurrence of a connection between southern and central Mozambique and that the observed population structuring could reflect recent events of anthropogenic origin. All the populations analysed showed high levels of homozygosity, likely due to extensive inbreeding over the last few decades, which could have increased the frequency of recessive deleterious alleles. Improving the resilience of Syncerus caffer caffer in Mozambique is essential for preserving the ecosystem integrity. The most viable approach appears to be facilitating translocations and re-establishing connectivity between isolated herds. However, our results also highlight the importance of assessing intraspecific genetic diversity when considering interventions aimed at enhancing population viability such as selecting suitable source populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:24:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b56d32e4c8ca4d2381d84df858ee2c83 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2730-7182 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T15:24:10Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-b56d32e4c8ca4d2381d84df858ee2c832024-03-05T17:25:59ZengBMCBMC Ecology and Evolution2730-71822024-03-0124111410.1186/s12862-024-02209-2Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in MozambiquePaolo Colangelo0Marika Di Civita1Carlos M. Bento2Paolo Franchini3Axel Meyer4Nadiya Orel5Luis C. B. G. das Neves6Fernando C. Mulandane7Joao S. Almeida8Gabriele Senczuk9Fabio Pilla10Simone Sabatelli11National Research Council, Research Institute on Terrestrial EcosystemsDepartment of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of MoliseNatural History Museum, Eduardo Mondlane UniversityDepartment of Biology, University of KonstanzDepartment of Biology, University of KonstanzDepartment of Biology, University of KonstanzBiotechnology Centre of Eduardo Mondlane UniversityBiotechnology Centre of Eduardo Mondlane UniversityMozambique wildlife allianceDepartment of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of MoliseDepartment of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of MoliseDepartment of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza UniversityAbstract The African buffalo, Syncerus caffer, is a key species in African ecosystems. Like other large herbivores, it plays a fundamental role in its habitat acting as an ecosystem engineer. Over the last few centuries, African buffalo populations have declined because of range contraction and demographic decline caused by direct or indirect human activities. In Mozambique, historically home to large buffalo herds, the combined effect of colonialism and subsequent civil wars has created a critical situation that urgently needs to be addressed. In this study, we focused on the analysis of genetic diversity of Syncerus caffer caffer populations from six areas of Mozambique. Using genome-wide SNPs obtained from ddRAD sequencing, we examined the population structure across the country, estimated gene flow between areas under conservation management, including national reserves, and assessed the inbreeding coefficients. Our results indicate that all studied populations of Syncerus caffer caffer are genetically depauperate, with a high level of inbreeding. Moreover, buffaloes in Mozambique present a significant population differentiation between southern and central areas. We found an unexpected genotype in the Gorongosa National Park, where buffaloes experienced a dramatic population size reduction, that shares a common ancestry with southern populations of Catuane and Namaacha. This could suggest the past occurrence of a connection between southern and central Mozambique and that the observed population structuring could reflect recent events of anthropogenic origin. All the populations analysed showed high levels of homozygosity, likely due to extensive inbreeding over the last few decades, which could have increased the frequency of recessive deleterious alleles. Improving the resilience of Syncerus caffer caffer in Mozambique is essential for preserving the ecosystem integrity. The most viable approach appears to be facilitating translocations and re-establishing connectivity between isolated herds. However, our results also highlight the importance of assessing intraspecific genetic diversity when considering interventions aimed at enhancing population viability such as selecting suitable source populations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02209-2RAD-seqPopulation genomicsHomozygosityAdmixtureGene flowSyncerus caffer caffer |
| spellingShingle | Paolo Colangelo Marika Di Civita Carlos M. Bento Paolo Franchini Axel Meyer Nadiya Orel Luis C. B. G. das Neves Fernando C. Mulandane Joao S. Almeida Gabriele Senczuk Fabio Pilla Simone Sabatelli Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique BMC Ecology and Evolution RAD-seq Population genomics Homozygosity Admixture Gene flow Syncerus caffer caffer |
| title | Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique |
| title_full | Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique |
| title_fullStr | Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique |
| title_short | Genome-wide diversity, population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the African buffalo in Mozambique |
| title_sort | genome wide diversity population structure and signatures of inbreeding in the african buffalo in mozambique |
| topic | RAD-seq Population genomics Homozygosity Admixture Gene flow Syncerus caffer caffer |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-024-02209-2 |
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