Project description:Availability of a contiguous chromosome-level genome assembly is the foundational step to develop genome-based studies in American mink (Neogale vison). The main objective of this study was to provide a high quality chromosome-level genome assembly for American mink. An initial draft of the genome assembly was generated using 2,884,047 PacBio long reads. Integration of Hi-C data into the initial draft led to an assembly with 183 scaffolds and scaffold N50 of 220 Mb. This gap-free genome assembly of American mink (ASM_NN_V1) had a length of 2.68 Gb in which about 98.6% of the whole genome was covered by 15 chromosomes. In total, 25,377 genes were predicted across the American mink genome using the NCBI Eukaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline. In addition, gene orthology, demographic history, synteny blocks, and phylogenetic relationships were studied in connection with the genomes of other related Carnivora. Furthermore, population-based statistics of 100 sequenced mink were presented using the newly assembled genome. Remarkable improvements were observed in genome contiguity, the number of scaffolds, and annotation compared to the first draft of mink genome assembly (NNQGG.v01). This high-quality genome assembly will support the development of efficient breeding strategies as well as conservation programs for American mink.
Project description:The Danish feral mink (Neogale vison) population can be divided into wild-born and captive-born mink newly escaped from a farm. The impact of the captive-born mink on the population of feral population is unknown. Captive-born mink has lately been estimated to make up 25-30% of the feral mink population. In December 2020 Danish mink farms were decommissioned until January 2023. The aim of this study was to: 1) Examine whether a supplementation of farmed mink into the feral mink population influence the population growth and extinction rate of the feral mink, 2) Investigate which parameters affect the viability in feral mink populations the most. The age and mortality of 351 mink and the reproduction of 85 adult females culled by hunters from 2019-2022 were determined in three distinct geographic areas of Denmark (Jutland, Zealand, and Bornholm). VORTEX simulations were used to model the population viability and to simulate the impact of a supplementation of captive-born mink into the wild population. Simulations show that changes by 30% in the parameters: fecundity, percentages of breeding females and mortality influenced population size influenced the final population size significantly. The initial population size and inbreeding did not affect the population growth significantly. The simulations showed that the mink population in the regions of Jutland and Zealand could go extinct within 15 to 30 years without any supplementation of captive-born mink to the feral population. The population on Bornholm will however remain stable with current levels of mortality and reproduction even without supplementation of captive mink.
Project description:Two groups of serologically confirmed ADV infected mink were used to analyze the association of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with Aleutian disease (AD) resistance. Group I (n=97) was comprised of disease susceptible (ADS) animals, with disease related hyper-gammaglobulinemia confirmed by the lowered albumin: IgG ratio (A: IgG); and Group II (n=97) contained disease resistant (ADR) animals with normal A: IgG ratio. The phenotypic assignment into the groups was done according to previously validated MALDI-TOF A: IgG ratio of high reproducibility in ADV infected animals. Illumina Hiseq 2500 sequencing was used to produce sequence libraries which were biocomputationally analyzed the genome wide spread SNPs where then associated with the disease susceptible and resistant groups of animals. There was a clear over-dominance for the GATOR complex protein NPRL3 isoform X6, with a very strong effect on the differences between the animals of ADS and the ADR groups. A minor effect was observed around the HLA complex, however scattered over more genes in this area. The Protocadherin Fat 3 (FAT3) or it neighborhood could also be regarded as a candidate aerea influencing the outcome of the infection. In the absence of vaccination, and in the light of eradication failures, the results provide the foundation for the development of genomic tests, as the basis for assisted breeding for disease resistance. Additionally, the results could be useful in investigations of genetic basis of the resistance of animal infections of major economic importance, e.g. African swine fever (ASF).