(Image Credit: Miller_Estzer/pixabay)
Welcome to… Holocene Epoch park.
The Iberian lynx went nearly extinct, and now it’s making a comeback. Thanks to conservation efforts, its population grew from 25 in 2002 to over 400 reproductive females. Researchers conducted a study showing that interbreeding with the Eurasian lynx helped boost the species’ genetic diversity, improving its survival chances down the line. However, the Iberian lynx population still needs to grow as it hasn’t reached 1,100 reproductive females to be considered genetically viable.
Extracting nuclear DNA from subfossil samples or historical remains and studying it can provide scientists with insight into the species’ genetic past. This gives them a better idea of how it compares with their modern counterparts. In 2015, the team traveled to a lab in Germany and produced the entire genome data from ancient Iberian lynx bones.
The extraction involved using specialized clean room facilities to prevent contamination. They collected samples from Iberian lynx bones dating 2,500-4,000 years old. After extracting the DNA, the team analyzed and compared it with modern Iberian lynx. Surprisingly, ancient DNA had a lower genetic diversity than modern DNA. With the significant population decline over the past few centuries, the researchers felt puzzled by their discovery.
They also discovered that the modern Iberian lynx shared more genetic variants with the Eurasian lynx than the ancient species. These points to both species interbreeding within the past 2,500 years, leading to a genetic diversity boost in today’s Iberian lynx. Such discoveries match genome evidence of ancient gene flow from the Eurasian lynx into the Iberian lynx genome.
Both species previously coexisted in the Iberian Peninsula and potentially Northern and Southern Italy despite not sharing the same habitats. Those scenarios may have led to interbreeding opportunities. Now, chances of those species naturally meeting and breeding can grow as their ranges expand. That could also lead to high genetic diversity later on.
Nuclear genome analysis over the past thirty years unveiled several cross-species interbreeding, including polar bears and brown bears. That could indicate the lynx case isn’t as uncommon as we believe. Even then, the Iberian lynx is the first documented case in which interspecies breeding drastically boosted species-wide genetic diversity.
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