The relevance of pedigrees in the conservation genomics era

Over the past 50 years conservation genetics has developed a substantive toolbox to inform species management. One of the most long-standing tools available to manage genetics—the pedigree—has been widely used to characterize diversity and maximize evolutionary potential in threatened populations. Now, with the ability to use high throughput sequencing to estimate relatedness, inbreeding, and genome-wide functional diversity, some have asked whether it is warranted for conservation biologists to continue collecting and collating pedigrees for species management. In this perspective, we argue that pedigrees remain a relevant tool, and when combined with genomic data, create an invaluable resource for conservation genomic management. Genomic data can address pedigree pitfalls (e.g., founder relatedness, missing data, uncertainty), and in return robust pedigrees allow for more nuanced research design, including well-informed sampling strategies and quantitative analyses (e.g., heritability, linkage) to better inform genomic inquiry. We further contend that building and maintaining pedigrees provides an opportunity to strengthen trusted relationships among conservation researchers, practitioners, Indigenous Peoples, and Local Communities.     

Variations in fecundity over catchment scales: Implications for caddisfly populations spanning a thermal gradient

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Natural variation,differentiation, and genetic trade‐offs of ecophysiological traits in response to water limitation in Brachypodium distachyon and its descendent allotetraploid B. hybridum (Poaceae)

Differences in tolerance to water stress may underlie ecological divergence of closely related ploidy lineages. However, the mechanistic basis of physiological variation governing ecogeographical cytotype segregation is not well understood. Here, using Brachypodium distachyon and its derived allotetraploid B. hybridum as model, we test the hypothesis that, for heteroploid annuals, ecological divergence of polyploids in drier environments is based on trait differentiation enabling drought escape. We demonstrate that under water limitation allotetraploids maintain higher photosynthesis and stomatal conductance and show earlier flowering than diploids, concordant with a drought‐escape strategy to cope with water stress. Increased heterozygosity and greater genetic variability and plasticity of polyploids could confer a superior adaptive capability. Consistent with these predictions, we document (1) greater standing within‐population genetic variation in water‐use efficiency (WUE) and flowering time in allotetraploids, and (2) the existence of (nonlinear) environmental clines in physiology across allotetraploid populations. Increased gas exchange and diminished WUE occurred at the driest end of the gradient, consistent with a drought‐escape strategy. Finally, we found that allotetraploids showed weaker genetic correlations than diploids congruous with the expectation of relaxed pleiotropic constraints in polyploids. Our results suggest evolutionary divergence of ecophysiological traits in each ploidy lineage.     

Transmission of Atherosclerosis Susceptibility with Gut Microbial Transplantation

Recent studies indicate both clinical and mechanistic links between atherosclerotic heart disease and intestinal microbial metabolism of certain dietary nutrients producing trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). Here we test the hypothesis that gut microbial transplantation can transmit choline diet-induced TMAO production and atherosclerosis susceptibility. First, a strong association was noted between atherosclerotic plaque and plasma TMAO levels in a mouse diversity panel (n = 22 strains, r = 0.38; p = 0.0001). An atherosclerosis-prone and high TMAO-producing strain, C57BL/6J, and an atherosclerosis-resistant and low TMAO-producing strain, NZW/LacJ, were selected as donors for cecal microbial transplantation into apolipoprotein e null mice in which resident intestinal microbes were first suppressed with antibiotics. Trimethylamine (TMA) and TMAO levels were initially higher in recipients on choline diet that received cecal microbes from C57BL/6J inbred mice; however, durability of choline diet-dependent differences in TMA/TMAO levels was not maintained to the end of the study. Mice receiving C57BL/6J cecal microbes demonstrated choline diet-dependent enhancement in atherosclerotic plaque burden as compared with recipients of NZW/LacJ microbes. Microbial DNA analyses in feces and cecum revealed transplantation of donor microbial community features into recipients with differences in taxa proportions between donor strains that were transmissible to recipients and that tended to show coincident proportions with TMAO levels. Proportions of specific taxa were also identified that correlated with plasma TMAO levels in donors and recipients and with atherosclerotic lesion area in recipients. Atherosclerosis susceptibility may be transmitted via transplantation of gut microbiota. Gut microbes may thus represent a novel therapeutic target for modulating atherosclerosis susceptibility.