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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Pangolin Genomes Offer Key Insights and Resources for the World's Most Trafficked Wild Mammals
Molecular Biology and Evolution, Volume 40, No. 10, Article msad190, Year 2023
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Description
Pangolins form a group of scaly mammals that are trafficked at record numbers for their meat and purported medicinal properties. Despite their conservation concern, knowledge of their evolution is limited by a paucity of genomic data. We aim to produce exhaustive genomic resources that include 3,238 orthologous genes and whole-genome polymorphisms to assess the evolution of all eight extant pangolin species. Robust orthologous gene-based phylogenies recovered the monophyly of the three genera and highlighted the existence of an undescribed species closely related to Southeast Asian pangolins. Signatures of middle Miocene admixture between an extinct, possibly European, lineage and the ancestor of Southeast Asian pangolins, provide new insights into the early evolutionary history of the group. Demographic trajectories and genome-wide heterozygosity estimates revealed contrasts between continental versus island populations and species lineages, suggesting that conservation planning should consider intraspecific patterns. With the expected loss of genomic diversity from recent, extensive trafficking not yet realized in pangolins, we recommend that populations be genetically surveyed to anticipate any deleterious impact of the illegal trade. Finally, we produce a complete set of genomic resources that will be integral for future conservation management and forensic endeavors for pangolins, including tracing their illegal trade. These comprise the completion of whole-genomes for pangolins through the hybrid assembly of the first reference genome for the giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) and new draft genomes (∼43x-77x) for four additional species, as well as a database of orthologous genes with over 3.4 million polymorphic sites. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Authors & Co-Authors
Heighton, Sean P.
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Allio, Rémi
France, Montpellier
Institut Des Sciences de L’evolution de Montpellier
Murienne, Jérôme
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Salmona, Jordi
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Meng, Hao
China, Beijing
Center for Life Sciences
Scornavacca, Céline D.Sign©line
France, Montpellier
Institut Des Sciences de L’evolution de Montpellier
Bastos, Armanda Duarte Slager
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Njiokou, Flobert
Cameroon, Yaounde
Université de Yaoundé I
Pietersen, Darren William
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Tilak, Marie Ka
France, Montpellier
Institut Des Sciences de L’evolution de Montpellier
Luo, Shujin
China, Beijing
Center for Life Sciences
Delsuc, Frédéric
France, Montpellier
Institut Des Sciences de L’evolution de Montpellier
Gaubert, Philippe
France, Paris
Cnrs Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Portugal, Matosinhos
Ciimar - Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Statistics
Citations: 3
Authors: 13
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1093/molbev/msad190
ISSN:
07374038
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics