Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares

Abstract Brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) are able to hybridize with mountain hares (L. timidus Linnaeus) and produce fertile offspring, which results in cross-species gene flow. However, not much is known about the functional significance of this genetic introgression. Using targeted sequencing...

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Autores principales:	Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki, Craig Michell, Riikka Levänen, Steve Smith
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fb1fa57c095a4ce283928ae649797049
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fb1fa57c095a4ce283928ae6497970492021-12-02T16:35:42ZHybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares10.1038/s41598-021-95357-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/fb1fa57c095a4ce283928ae6497970492021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95357-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) are able to hybridize with mountain hares (L. timidus Linnaeus) and produce fertile offspring, which results in cross-species gene flow. However, not much is known about the functional significance of this genetic introgression. Using targeted sequencing of candidate loci combined with mtDNA genotyping, we found the ancestral genetic diversity in the Finnish brown hare to be small, likely due to founder effect and range expansion, while gene flow from mountain hares constitutes an important source of functional genetic variability. Some of this variability, such as the alleles of the mountain hare thermogenin (uncoupling protein 1, UCP1), might have adaptive advantage for brown hares, whereas immunity-related MHC alleles are reciprocally exchanged and maintained via balancing selection. Our study offers a rare example where an expanding species can increase its allelic variability through hybridization with a congeneric native species, offering a route to shortcut evolutionary adaptation to the local environmental conditions.Jaakko L. O. PohjoismäkiCraig MichellRiikka LevänenSteve SmithNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki Craig Michell Riikka Levänen Steve Smith Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
description	Abstract Brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) are able to hybridize with mountain hares (L. timidus Linnaeus) and produce fertile offspring, which results in cross-species gene flow. However, not much is known about the functional significance of this genetic introgression. Using targeted sequencing of candidate loci combined with mtDNA genotyping, we found the ancestral genetic diversity in the Finnish brown hare to be small, likely due to founder effect and range expansion, while gene flow from mountain hares constitutes an important source of functional genetic variability. Some of this variability, such as the alleles of the mountain hare thermogenin (uncoupling protein 1, UCP1), might have adaptive advantage for brown hares, whereas immunity-related MHC alleles are reciprocally exchanged and maintained via balancing selection. Our study offers a rare example where an expanding species can increase its allelic variability through hybridization with a congeneric native species, offering a route to shortcut evolutionary adaptation to the local environmental conditions.
format	article
author	Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki Craig Michell Riikka Levänen Steve Smith
author_facet	Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki Craig Michell Riikka Levänen Steve Smith
author_sort	Jaakko L. O. Pohjoismäki
title	Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
title_short	Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
title_full	Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
title_fullStr	Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
title_full_unstemmed	Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
title_sort	hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fb1fa57c095a4ce283928ae649797049
work_keys_str_mv	AT jaakkolopohjoismaki hybridizationwithmountainharesincreasesthefunctionalallelicrepertoireinbrownhares AT craigmichell hybridizationwithmountainharesincreasesthefunctionalallelicrepertoireinbrownhares AT riikkalevanen hybridizationwithmountainharesincreasesthefunctionalallelicrepertoireinbrownhares AT stevesmith hybridizationwithmountainharesincreasesthefunctionalallelicrepertoireinbrownhares
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Hybridization with mountain hares increases the functional allelic repertoire in brown hares

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