Genomic approaches to identify hybrids and estimate admixture times in European wildcat populations

摘要: The survival of indigenous European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) populations can be locally threatened by introgressive hybridization with free-ranging domestic cats. Identifying pure wildcats and investigating the ancestry admixed individuals becomes thus a conservation priority. We analyzed 63k cat Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) multivariate, Bayesian gene-search tools to better evaluate admixture levels between wild cats collected in Europe, timing proportions their hybrids backcrosses, track origin (wild or domestic) genomic blocks carried cats, also looking for possible deviations from neutrality inheritance patterns. Small were detected genomes most which likely originated events occurring 6 22 generations past. identified about 1,900 outlier coding genes excess compared random expectations individuals. More than 600 outlier significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) categories mainly related social behavior, functional metabolic adaptive processes (wild-like genes), involved cognition neural crest development (domestic-like associated immune system functions lipid metabolism (parental-like genes). These kinds analyses could reliably applied unravel dynamics wildcats, as well other hybridizing populations, order design more efficient plans.