Project Details
Description
Numerous species worldwide are declining at an alarming pace, causing severe reductions in population sizes. Small populations enhance the risk of inbreeding depression, which negatively impacts individual fitness and population viability. To mitigate the effects of inbreeding, its underlying mechanisms need to be better understood. Here, I investigate the hypothesis that the consequences of inbreeding are determined by the amount of harmful mutations in a genome. We need to understand how these mutations arise and how they are maintained in populations to be able to manage populations currently under pressure.
Recent advances in genome sequencing have opened exciting possibilities to actually measure the amount of harmful mutations in genomes. I will use re-sequence data of pig, songbird and flour beetle to quantify harmful mutations. I will test whether having more harmful mutations is associated with larger fitness consequences in inbred populations. I will also investigate three factors that I predict to influence the occurrence of harmful mutations: 1) past population bottlenecks; 2) current inbreeding; and 3) selection, acting locally in the genome. By comparing these processes in the three highly diverse evolutionary groups I will investigate the generality of my findings. Finally, I will experimentally test whether the negative effects of inbreeding can be counteracted by introducing unrelated individuals to the gene pool, using flour beetles as a model system. More specifically, I will test whether fitness of an inbred population will increase more when the introduced individuals come from populations that carry few harmful mutations. The results of my work will significantly deepen our insight in the genomic mechanisms behind inbreeding depression. My findings can impact commercial breeding by improving the efficiency of livestock production. Moreover, in collaboration with zoos my obtained insights can be implemented to facilitate captive breeding programmes and conservation efforts of endangered species.
Recent advances in genome sequencing have opened exciting possibilities to actually measure the amount of harmful mutations in genomes. I will use re-sequence data of pig, songbird and flour beetle to quantify harmful mutations. I will test whether having more harmful mutations is associated with larger fitness consequences in inbred populations. I will also investigate three factors that I predict to influence the occurrence of harmful mutations: 1) past population bottlenecks; 2) current inbreeding; and 3) selection, acting locally in the genome. By comparing these processes in the three highly diverse evolutionary groups I will investigate the generality of my findings. Finally, I will experimentally test whether the negative effects of inbreeding can be counteracted by introducing unrelated individuals to the gene pool, using flour beetles as a model system. More specifically, I will test whether fitness of an inbred population will increase more when the introduced individuals come from populations that carry few harmful mutations. The results of my work will significantly deepen our insight in the genomic mechanisms behind inbreeding depression. My findings can impact commercial breeding by improving the efficiency of livestock production. Moreover, in collaboration with zoos my obtained insights can be implemented to facilitate captive breeding programmes and conservation efforts of endangered species.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 18/06/18 → 17/03/22 |
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