TY - JOUR

T1 - High genetic diversity and low differentiation reflect the ecological versatility of the African leopard

AU - Pečnerová, Patrícia

AU - Garcia-Erill, Genís

AU - Liu, Xiaodong

AU - Nursyifa, Casia

AU - Waples, Ryan K.

AU - Santander, Cindy G.

AU - Quinn, Liam

AU - Frandsen, Peter

AU - Meisner, Jonas

AU - Stæger, Frederik Filip

AU - Rasmussen, Malthe Sebro

AU - Brüniche-Olsen, Anna

AU - Jørgensen, Christian Hviid Friis

AU - da Fonseca, Rute R.

AU - Siegismund, Hans R.

AU - Albrechtsen, Anders

AU - Heller, Rasmus

AU - Moltke, Ida

AU - Hanghøj, Kristian

N1 - Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Large carnivores are generally sensitive to ecosystem changes because their specialized diet and position at the top of the trophic pyramid is associated with small population sizes. Accordingly, low genetic diversity at the whole-genome level has been reported for all big cat species, including the widely distributed leopard. However, all previous whole-genome analyses of leopards are based on the Far Eastern Amur leopards that live at the extremity of the species' distribution and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole species. We sequenced 53 whole genomes of African leopards. Strikingly, we found that the genomic diversity in the African leopard is 2- to 5-fold higher than in other big cats, including the Amur leopard, likely because of an exceptionally high effective population size maintained by the African leopard throughout the Pleistocene. Furthermore, we detected ongoing gene flow and very low population differentiation within African leopards compared with those of other big cats. We corroborated this by showing a complete absence of an otherwise ubiquitous equatorial forest barrier to gene flow. This sets the leopard apart from most other widely distributed large African mammals, including lions. These results revise our understanding of trophic sensitivity and highlight the remarkable resilience of the African leopard, likely because of its extraordinary habitat versatility and broad dietary niche.

AB - Large carnivores are generally sensitive to ecosystem changes because their specialized diet and position at the top of the trophic pyramid is associated with small population sizes. Accordingly, low genetic diversity at the whole-genome level has been reported for all big cat species, including the widely distributed leopard. However, all previous whole-genome analyses of leopards are based on the Far Eastern Amur leopards that live at the extremity of the species' distribution and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole species. We sequenced 53 whole genomes of African leopards. Strikingly, we found that the genomic diversity in the African leopard is 2- to 5-fold higher than in other big cats, including the Amur leopard, likely because of an exceptionally high effective population size maintained by the African leopard throughout the Pleistocene. Furthermore, we detected ongoing gene flow and very low population differentiation within African leopards compared with those of other big cats. We corroborated this by showing a complete absence of an otherwise ubiquitous equatorial forest barrier to gene flow. This sets the leopard apart from most other widely distributed large African mammals, including lions. These results revise our understanding of trophic sensitivity and highlight the remarkable resilience of the African leopard, likely because of its extraordinary habitat versatility and broad dietary niche.

U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.064

DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.064

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33636121

VL - 31

SP - 1862-1871, e1-e5

JO - Current Biology

JF - Current Biology

SN - 0960-9822

IS - 9

ER -