The potential role of chromosomal inversions in the persistence of
small, isolated populations of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
Abstract
Understanding the role of structural variants such as chromosomal
inversions in local adaptation among small, isolated populations is an
important addition to robust conservation strategies, as most studies
investigating inversions to date have been conducted on high gene flow
systems. Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), an economically important
top sportfish, is extremely vulnerable to thermal stress. Local
adaptation with respect to this trait warrants investigation as climate
change accelerates the loss of cold-stream ecosystems. We performed
low-coverage whole genome sequencing (lcWGS) on N=192 Brook Trout from
nine small, isolated streams in Nova Scotia, Canada. Using the indirect
structural variant detection framework, we detected four potential
chromosomal inversions in the three westernmost populations which differ
from all other streams in water temperature, streamflow, and surficial
geology. These genomic regions exhibited high linkage disequilibrium
(LD) and principal component analyses (PCA) revealed the presence of
three karyotypes (inverted and non-inverted homokaryotype, and
heterokaryotype). Heterozygosity was lowest among inverted
homokaryotypes, providing further support of the presence of inversions.
Mitogenome analyses suggest that a single glacial lineage recolonized
the region. The mtDNA haplotypes of individuals carrying potential
inversions were shared among individuals with two copies of non-inverted
chromosomal regions, suggesting these inversions were derived
post-recolonization. These novel inversions comprised genes involved in
different biological processes including thermal adaptations.