McKnight, Donald T; Carr, Leah J; Bower, Deborah S; Schwarzkopf, Lin; Alford, Ross A; Zenger, Kyall R

Author(s)

McKnight, Donald T

Carr, Leah J

Bower, Deborah S

Schwarzkopf, Lin

Alford, Ross A

Zenger, Kyall R

Publication Date

2020-09

Abstract

Emerging infectious diseases can cause dramatic declines in wildlife populations. Sometimes, these declines are followed by recovery, but many populations do not recover. Studying differential recovery patterns may yield important information for managing disease-afflicted populations and facilitating population recoveries. In the late 1980s, a chytridiomycosis outbreak caused multiple frog species in Australia's Wet Tropics to decline. Populations of some species (e.g., Litoria nannotis) subsequently recovered, while others (e.g., Litoria dayi) did not. We examined the population genetics and current infection status of L. dayi, to test several hypotheses regarding the failure of its populations to recover: (1) a lack of individual dispersal abilities has prevented recolonization of previously occupied locations, (2) a loss of genetic variation has resulted in limited adaptive potential, and (3) L. dayi is currently adapting to chytridiomycosis. We found moderate-to-high levels of gene flow and diversity (Fst range: <0.01–0.15; minor allele frequency (MAF): 0.192–0.245), which were similar to previously published levels for recovered L. nannotis populations. This suggests that dispersal ability and genetic diversity do not limit the ability of L. dayi to recolonize upland sites. Further, infection intensity and prevalence increased with elevation, suggesting that chytridiomycosis is still limiting the elevational range of L. dayi. Outlier tests comparing infected and uninfected individuals consistently identified 18 markers as putatively under selection, and several of those markers matched genes that were previously implicated in infection. This suggests that L. dayi has genetic variation for genes that affect infection dynamics and may be undergoing adaptation.

Citation

Heredity, 125(3), p. 110-123

ISSN

1365-2540

0018-067X

Pubmed ID

32483317

Link

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29043

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Title

Infection dynamics, dispersal, and adaptation: understanding the lack of recovery in a remnant frog population following a disease outbreak

Type of document

Journal Article

Entity Type

Publication

Author(s)	McKnight, Donald T Carr, Leah J Bower, Deborah S Schwarzkopf, Lin Alford, Ross A Zenger, Kyall R
Publication Date	2020-09
Abstract	Emerging infectious diseases can cause dramatic declines in wildlife populations. Sometimes, these declines are followed by recovery, but many populations do not recover. Studying differential recovery patterns may yield important information for managing disease-afflicted populations and facilitating population recoveries. In the late 1980s, a chytridiomycosis outbreak caused multiple frog species in Australia's Wet Tropics to decline. Populations of some species (e.g., <i>Litoria nannotis</i>) subsequently recovered, while others (e.g., <i>Litoria dayi</i>) did not. We examined the population genetics and current infection status of <i>L. dayi</i>, to test several hypotheses regarding the failure of its populations to recover: (1) a lack of individual dispersal abilities has prevented recolonization of previously occupied locations, (2) a loss of genetic variation has resulted in limited adaptive potential, and (3) <i>L. dayi</i> is currently adapting to chytridiomycosis. We found moderate-to-high levels of gene flow and diversity (Fst range: <0.01–0.15; minor allele frequency (MAF): 0.192–0.245), which were similar to previously published levels for recovered <i>L. nannotis</i> populations. This suggests that dispersal ability and genetic diversity do not limit the ability of <i>L. dayi</i> to recolonize upland sites. Further, infection intensity and prevalence increased with elevation, suggesting that chytridiomycosis is still limiting the elevational range of <i>L. dayi</i>. Outlier tests comparing infected and uninfected individuals consistently identified 18 markers as putatively under selection, and several of those markers matched genes that were previously implicated in infection. This suggests that <i>L. dayi</i> has genetic variation for genes that affect infection dynamics and may be undergoing adaptation.
Citation	Heredity, 125(3), p. 110-123
ISSN	1365-2540 0018-067X
Pubmed ID	32483317
Link	https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/29043
Publisher	Nature Publishing Group
Title	Infection dynamics, dispersal, and adaptation: understanding the lack of recovery in a remnant frog population following a disease outbreak
Type of document	Journal Article
Entity Type	Publication

Infection dynamics, dispersal, and adaptation: understanding the lack of recovery in a remnant frog population following a disease outbreak

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