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Genome variability in European and American bison detected using the BovineSNP50 BeadChip

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Abstract

The remaining wild populations of bison have all been through severe bottlenecks. The genomic consequences of these bottlenecks present an interesting area to study. Using a very large panel of SNPs developed in Bos taurus we have carried out a genome-wide screening on the European bison (Bison bonasus; EB) and on two subspecies of American bison: the plains bison (B. bison bison; PB) and the wood bison (B. bison athabascae; WB). One hundred bison samples were genotyped for 52,978 SNPs along with seven breeds of domestic bovine Bos taurus. Only 2,209 of the SNPs were polymorphic in the bison when EB, PB and WB were pooled and only 929 SNPs were polymorphic in EB. Larger numbers of polymorphic SNPs were found in PB (1,403 SNPs) and WB (1,524 SNPs). Also the expected heterozygosity was lower in EB (H E = 0.135) than in WB (H E = 0.197) and PB (H E = 0.199). The polymorphic SNPs were not randomly distributed in the bison, but were aggregated and separated from each other by regions with low haplotype diversity (haplotype blocks). Based on our results we suggest that the utilization of genome-wide screening technologies holds large potential to radically change the breeding practices in captive or managed populations of threatened populations and advocate for developing marker assisted selected strategies in such populations.

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Acknowledgments

This study has been partly supported by a Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Fellowship BIORESC of European Community’s Sixth Framework Program (contract number MTKD-CT-2005-029957), by the Frankfurt Zoological Society––Help for Threatened Wildlife and by the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community (project “Bison Land––European bison conservation in Białowieża Forest”, LIFE06 NAT/PL/000105 BISON-LAND). Furthermore, we wish to thank the ConGen program (funded by the European Science Foundation) and the Danish Natural Science Research Council for financial support to CP (grant number: #21-01-0526, #21-03-0125 and #272-08-0567). Finally, we like to thank Kuke Bijlsma and two anonymous reviewers for many helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Waszkiewicza 1c, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland

    Cino Pertoldi, Jan M. Wójcik, Małgorzata Tokarska & Agata Kawałko

  2. Department of Biological Sciences Ecology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade, Building 1540, 8000, Århus C, Denmark

    Cino Pertoldi, Torsten N. Kristensen & Volker Loeschcke

  3. Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark

    Torsten N. Kristensen, Vivi R. Gregersen, Mark Henryon & Christian Bendixen

  4. Department of Biological Science, University of Alberta, Ctr. Biol. Sci., Edmonton, T6G 2E9, AB, Canada

    David Coltman & Gregory A. Wilson

  5. Canadian Wildlife Service, 200, 4999-98 Ave, Edmonton, T6B 2X3, AB, Canada

    Gregory A. Wilson

  6. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, via Cá Fornacetta 9, 40064, Ozzano Emilia, BO, Italy

    Ettore Randi

Authors
  1. Cino Pertoldi
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  2. Jan M. Wójcik
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  3. Małgorzata Tokarska
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  4. Agata Kawałko
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  5. Torsten N. Kristensen
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  6. Volker Loeschcke
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  7. Vivi R. Gregersen
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  8. David Coltman
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  9. Gregory A. Wilson
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  10. Ettore Randi
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  11. Mark Henryon
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  12. Christian Bendixen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cino Pertoldi.

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Pertoldi, C., Wójcik, J.M., Tokarska, M. et al. Genome variability in European and American bison detected using the BovineSNP50 BeadChip. Conserv Genet 11, 627–634 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-9977-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-9977-y

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