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Roe deer on ice: selection despite limited effective population size through the Pleistocene
  • Alana Alexander,
  • Ludovic Dutoit
Alana Alexander
University of Otago

Corresponding Author:alana.alexander@otago.ac.nz

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Ludovic Dutoit
University of Otago Department of Zoology
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Abstract

Roe deer (Capreolus spp.) are a little odd. They are one of only a few placental mammals — and the only genus among even-toed ungulates — capable of putting embryonic development “on ice”, also known as embryonic diapause (Fig. 1). It would seem such an unusual trait is likely the product of natural selection, but a big question is, how does selection for important traits, such as diapause, interact with the historical demography of a species? In a ‘From the Cover’ article in this issue of Molecular Ecology, de Jong et al. (2020) demonstrate that selection is acting on genes associated with reproductive biology in roe deer, despite heightened genetic drift due to reduced effective population size through the Pleistocene.
11 May 2020Submitted to Molecular Ecology
13 May 2020Submission Checks Completed
13 May 2020Assigned to Editor
19 May 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
21 May 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
26 May 2020Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
28 May 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
28 May 20201st Revision Received
09 Jun 2020Editorial Decision: Accept
Aug 2020Published in Molecular Ecology volume 29 issue 15 on pages 2765-2767. 10.1111/mec.15511