Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age
Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has mainly been possible to...
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Online Access: | https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/1/msy018.pdf https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy018 |
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ftleedsuniv:oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:127966 2023-05-15T18:42:09+02:00 Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age Cahill, James A Heintzman, Peter D Harris, Kelley Teasdale, Matthew D Kapp, Joshua Soares, André E Rodrigues Stirling, Ian Bradley, Daniel Edwards, Ceiridwen J Graim, Kiley Kisleika, Aliaksandr A Malev, Alexander V Monaghan, Nigel Green, Richard E. Shapiro, Beth 2018-02-20 text https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/1/msy018.pdf https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy018 en eng https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/1/msy018.pdf Cahill, James A, Heintzman, Peter D, Harris, Kelley et al. (12 more authors) (2018) Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age. Molecular Biology and Evolution. ISSN 0737-4038 Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftleedsuniv https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy018 2023-01-30T22:04:15Z Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has mainly been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown. Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age. We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, when brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped. Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear ancestry in Irish brown bears declined rapidly until their extinction. Our results support a model in which ice age climate change created geographically widespread conditions conducive to admixture between polar bears and brown bears, as is again occurring today. We postulate that this model will be informative for many admixing species pairs impacted by climate change. Our results highlight the power of paleogenomics to reveal patterns of evolutionary change that are otherwise masked in contemporary data. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) Molecular Biology and Evolution 35 5 1120 1129 |
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Open Polar |
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White Rose Research Online (Universities of Leeds, Sheffield & York) |
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ftleedsuniv |
language |
English |
description |
Recent genomic analyses have provided substantial evidence for past periods of gene flow from polar bears (Ursus maritimus) into Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos), with some analyses suggesting a link between climate change and genomic introgression. However, because it has mainly been possible to sample bears from the present day, the timing, frequency, and evolutionary significance of this admixture remains unknown. Here, we analyze genomic DNA from three additional and geographically distinct brown bear populations, including two that lived temporally close to the peak of the last ice age. We find evidence of admixture in all three populations, suggesting that admixture between these species has been common in their recent evolutionary history. In addition, analyses of ten fossil bears from the now-extinct Irish population indicate that admixture peaked during the last ice age, when brown bear and polar bear ranges overlapped. Following this peak, the proportion of polar bear ancestry in Irish brown bears declined rapidly until their extinction. Our results support a model in which ice age climate change created geographically widespread conditions conducive to admixture between polar bears and brown bears, as is again occurring today. We postulate that this model will be informative for many admixing species pairs impacted by climate change. Our results highlight the power of paleogenomics to reveal patterns of evolutionary change that are otherwise masked in contemporary data. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cahill, James A Heintzman, Peter D Harris, Kelley Teasdale, Matthew D Kapp, Joshua Soares, André E Rodrigues Stirling, Ian Bradley, Daniel Edwards, Ceiridwen J Graim, Kiley Kisleika, Aliaksandr A Malev, Alexander V Monaghan, Nigel Green, Richard E. Shapiro, Beth |
spellingShingle |
Cahill, James A Heintzman, Peter D Harris, Kelley Teasdale, Matthew D Kapp, Joshua Soares, André E Rodrigues Stirling, Ian Bradley, Daniel Edwards, Ceiridwen J Graim, Kiley Kisleika, Aliaksandr A Malev, Alexander V Monaghan, Nigel Green, Richard E. Shapiro, Beth Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
author_facet |
Cahill, James A Heintzman, Peter D Harris, Kelley Teasdale, Matthew D Kapp, Joshua Soares, André E Rodrigues Stirling, Ian Bradley, Daniel Edwards, Ceiridwen J Graim, Kiley Kisleika, Aliaksandr A Malev, Alexander V Monaghan, Nigel Green, Richard E. Shapiro, Beth |
author_sort |
Cahill, James A |
title |
Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
title_short |
Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
title_full |
Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
title_fullStr |
Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
title_sort |
genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/ https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/1/msy018.pdf https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy018 |
genre |
Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos Ursus maritimus |
op_relation |
https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/127966/1/msy018.pdf Cahill, James A, Heintzman, Peter D, Harris, Kelley et al. (12 more authors) (2018) Genomic evidence of widespread admixture from polar bears into brown bears during the last ice age. Molecular Biology and Evolution. ISSN 0737-4038 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy018 |
container_title |
Molecular Biology and Evolution |
container_volume |
35 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1120 |
op_container_end_page |
1129 |
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1766231756502990848 |