Genetic responses in sexual diploid and asexual triploid goldfish
(Carassius auratus) introduced into a high-altitude environment
Abstract
Anthropogenic biological invasions represent major concerns but enable
us to investigate rapid evolutionary changes and adaptation to novel
environments. The goldfish Carassius auratus with sexual diploids and
asexual triploids coexisting in natural waters, is one of the most
widespread invasive fishes in Tibet, providing an ideal model to study
evolutionary processes during invasion in different reproductive forms
from the same vertebrate. Here, using whole-genome resequencing data of
151 C. auratus individuals from invasive and native ranges, we found
different patterns of genomic responses between diploid and triploid
populations during their invasion to Tibet. For diploids, although
invasive individuals derived from two different genetically distinct
sources and had a relative higher diversity (π) at the population level,
their individual genetic diversity (genome-wide observed heterozygosity)
was significantly lower (21.4%) than that of source individuals.
Population structure analysis revealed that the invasive individuals
formed a specific genetic cluster distinct from the source populations.
Runs of homozygosity analysis showed low inbreeding only in invasive
individuals, and only the invasive population experienced a recent
decline in effective population size reflecting founder events. For
triploids, however, invasive populations showed no loss of individual
genetic diversity and no genetic differentiation relative to source
populations. Regions of putative selective sweeps between invasive and
source populations of diploids mainly involved genes associated with
mannosidase activity and embryo development. Our results suggest
invasive diploids deriving from distinct sources still lost individual
genetic diversity resulting from recent inbreeding and founder events
and selective sweeps, and invasive triploids experienced no genetic
change owing to their reproduction mode of gynogenesis that precludes
inbreeding and founder effects and may make them more powerful invaders.