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From high masked to high realized genetic load in inbred Scandinavian wolves
  • Linnéa Smeds,
  • Hans Ellegren
Linnéa Smeds
Uppsala University

Corresponding Author:linnea.smeds@ebc.uu.se

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Hans Ellegren
Uppsala Universitet
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Abstract

Any random genetic change is more likely to impair than improve fitness, a situation that owes to the fact that contemporary genotypes bear a history of having been shaped by natural selection for a very long time. Most mutations are thus deleterious and generate a genetic load that can be difficult to handle in small populations and increase the risk of extinction. We used functional annotation and evolutionary conservation scores to study deleterious variation in 200+ genomes from the highly inbred Scandinavian wolf population, founded by only three wolves and suffering from inbreeding depression, and neighboring populations in northern Europe. The masked load was high in Russia and Finland with deleterious alleles segregating at lower frequency than neutral variation. Genetic drift in the Scandinavian population led to the loss of ancestral alleles and fixation of deleterious variants. The per-individual realized load increased with the extent of inbreeding and reached several hundred homozygous deleterious genotypes in protein-coding genes, and a total of more than 50,000 homozygous deleterious genotypes in the genome. Arrival of immigrants gave a temporary genetic rescue effect with ancestral alleles re-entering the population and moving deleterious alleles into heterozygote genotypes. However, in the absence of permanent connectivity inbreeding has then again led to the exposure of deleterious mutations. These observations provide genome-wide insight into the character of genetic load and genetic rescue at the molecular level, and in relation to population history. They emphasize the importance of securing gene flow in the management of endangered populations.
28 Jul 2022Submitted to Molecular Ecology
29 Jul 2022Submission Checks Completed
29 Jul 2022Assigned to Editor
05 Aug 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
10 Sep 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
21 Sep 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
03 Nov 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
03 Nov 20221st Revision Received
07 Nov 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
15 Nov 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Nov 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Nov 20222nd Revision Received
28 Nov 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Apr 2023Published in Molecular Ecology volume 32 issue 7 on pages 1567-1580. 10.1111/mec.16802