Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata

The advent of next-generation sequencing tools has made it possible to conduct fine-scale surveys of population differentiation and genome-wide scans for signatures of selection in non-model organisms. Such surveys are of particular importance in sharply declining coral species, since knowledge of p...

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Main Authors: Meghann K. Devlin-Durante, Iliana B. Baums
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2017-11-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/4077.pdf
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author Meghann K. Devlin-Durante
Iliana B. Baums
author_facet Meghann K. Devlin-Durante
Iliana B. Baums
author_sort Meghann K. Devlin-Durante
collection DOAJ
description The advent of next-generation sequencing tools has made it possible to conduct fine-scale surveys of population differentiation and genome-wide scans for signatures of selection in non-model organisms. Such surveys are of particular importance in sharply declining coral species, since knowledge of population boundaries and signs of local adaptation can inform restoration and conservation efforts. Here, we use genome-wide surveys of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, to reveal fine-scale population structure and infer the major barrier to gene flow that separates the eastern and western Caribbean populations between the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. The exact location of this break had been subject to discussion because two previous studies based on microsatellite data had come to differing conclusions. We investigate this contradiction by analyzing an extended set of 11 microsatellite markers including the five previously employed and discovered that one of the original microsatellite loci is apparently under selection. Exclusion of this locus reconciles the results from the SNP and the microsatellite datasets. Scans for outlier loci in the SNP data detected 13 candidate loci under positive selection, however there was no correlation between available environmental parameters and genetic distance. Together, these results suggest that reef restoration efforts should use local sources and utilize existing functional variation among geographic regions in ex situ crossing experiments to improve stress resistance of this species.
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spelling doaj.art-bda096a7bb91408ba15c94efd78092a32023-12-03T10:14:46ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-11-015e407710.7717/peerj.4077Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmataMeghann K. Devlin-Durante0Iliana B. Baums1Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of AmericaThe advent of next-generation sequencing tools has made it possible to conduct fine-scale surveys of population differentiation and genome-wide scans for signatures of selection in non-model organisms. Such surveys are of particular importance in sharply declining coral species, since knowledge of population boundaries and signs of local adaptation can inform restoration and conservation efforts. Here, we use genome-wide surveys of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, to reveal fine-scale population structure and infer the major barrier to gene flow that separates the eastern and western Caribbean populations between the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. The exact location of this break had been subject to discussion because two previous studies based on microsatellite data had come to differing conclusions. We investigate this contradiction by analyzing an extended set of 11 microsatellite markers including the five previously employed and discovered that one of the original microsatellite loci is apparently under selection. Exclusion of this locus reconciles the results from the SNP and the microsatellite datasets. Scans for outlier loci in the SNP data detected 13 candidate loci under positive selection, however there was no correlation between available environmental parameters and genetic distance. Together, these results suggest that reef restoration efforts should use local sources and utilize existing functional variation among geographic regions in ex situ crossing experiments to improve stress resistance of this species.https://peerj.com/articles/4077.pdfFunctional diversityRAD-Tag SNPClimate changeRestorationCaribbeanBottleneck
spellingShingle Meghann K. Devlin-Durante
Iliana B. Baums
Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
PeerJ
Functional diversity
RAD-Tag SNP
Climate change
Restoration
Caribbean
Bottleneck
title Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
title_full Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
title_fullStr Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
title_full_unstemmed Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
title_short Genome-wide survey of single-nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine-scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened Caribbean elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata
title_sort genome wide survey of single nucleotide polymorphisms reveals fine scale population structure and signs of selection in the threatened caribbean elkhorn coral acropora palmata
topic Functional diversity
RAD-Tag SNP
Climate change
Restoration
Caribbean
Bottleneck
url https://peerj.com/articles/4077.pdf
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AT ilianabbaums genomewidesurveyofsinglenucleotidepolymorphismsrevealsfinescalepopulationstructureandsignsofselectioninthethreatenedcaribbeanelkhorncoralacroporapalmata