Dataset Information

Demographic Variation of Wolbachia Infection in the Endangered Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly.

ABSTRACT: The Mitchell's satyr, Neonympha mitchellii, is an endangered species that is limited to highly isolated habitats in the northern and southern United States. Conservation strategies for isolated endangered species often implement captive breeding and translocation programs for repopulation. However, these programs risk increasing the spread of harmful pathogens, such as the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. Wolbachia can manipulate the host's reproduction leading to incompatibilities between infected and uninfected hosts. This study uses molecular methods to screen for Wolbachia presence across the distribution of the Mitchell's satyr and its subspecies, St. Francis satyr, which are both federally listed as endangered and are considered two of the rarest butterflies in North America. The screens confirmed the presence of Wolbachia in the northern and newly discovered southern populations of the Mitchell's satyr, but not in the St. Francis satyr population. These results combined with previous reports of Wolbachia in N. mitchellii, highlight that Wolbachia infection varies both geographically and temporally in satyr populations. The temporal variance shows the importance of continued monitoring of Wolbachia infection during conservation programs. To reduce the risk of reproductive incompatibilities, it is advised that all individuals collected for conservation purposes be screened for Wolbachia and recommended to avoid the use of infected individuals for captive breeding and translocation programs.

SUBMITTER: Fenner J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5492064 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Demographic Variation of Wolbachia Infection in the Endangered Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly.

Fenner Jennifer J Seltzer Jennifer J Peyton Scott S Sullivan Heather H Tolson Peter P Walsh Ryan P RP Hill JoVonn J Counterman Brian A BA

Insects 20170509 2

The Mitchell's satyr, Neonympha mitchellii, is an endangered species that is limited to highly isolated habitats in the northern and southern United States. Conservation strategies for isolated endangered species often implement captive breeding and translocation programs for repopulation. However, these programs risk increasing the spread of harmful pathogens, such as the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. Wolbachia can manipulate the host's reproduction leading to incompati ...[more]

PMID: 28486424

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Project description:BackgroundBretschneidera sinensis is an endangered relic tree species in the Akaniaceae family and is sporadically distributed in eastern Asia. As opposed to its current narrow and rare distribution, the fossil pollen of B. sinensis has been found to be frequent and widespread in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Miocene. B. sinensis is also a typical mycorrhizal plant, and its annual seedlings exhibit high mortality rates in absence of mycorrhizal development. The chromosome-level high-quality genome of B. sinensis will help us to more deeply understand the survival and demographic histories of this relic species.ResultsA total of 25.39 Gb HiFi reads and 109.17 Gb Hi-C reads were used to construct the chromosome-level genome of B. sinensis, which is 1.21 Gb in length with the contig N50 of 64.13 Mb and chromosome N50 of 146.54 Mb. The identified transposable elements account for 55.21% of the genome. A total of 45,839 protein-coding genes were predicted in B. sinensis. A lineage-specific whole-genome duplication was detected, and 7,283 lineage-specific expanded gene families with functions related to the specialized endotrophic mycorrhizal adaptation were identified. The historical effective population size (Ne) of B. sinensis was found to oscillate greatly in response to Quaternary climatic changes. The Ne of B. sinensis has decreased rapidly in the recent past, making its extant Ne extremely lower. Our additional evolutionary genomic analyses suggested that the developed mycorrhizal adaption might have been repeatedly disrupted by environmental changes caused by Quaternary climatic oscillations. The environmental changes and an already decreased population size during the Holocene may have led to the current rarity of B. sinensis.ConclusionThis is a detailed report of the genome sequences for the family Akaniaceae distributed in evergreen forests in eastern Asia. Such a high-quality genomic resource may provide critical clues for comparative genomics studies of this family in the future.

Dataset Information

Demographic Variation of Wolbachia Infection in the Endangered Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly.

Publications

Demographic Variation of Wolbachia Infection in the Endangered Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly.

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