Putatively Adaptive and Genome-Wide Genetic Variation Often Rank Populations as Similarly Distinctive

Area of Science:

• Conservation Genetics
• Population Genetics
• Genomics

Background:

• Identifying priority populations for conservation is crucial for maintaining species' genetic diversity and adaptive capacity.
• Two main approaches exist: prioritizing adaptive genetic variation or genome-wide variation, with mixed evidence on their congruence.
• Limitations in identifying adaptive variation and predicting future needs complicate targeted approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To directly test the congruence between population prioritizations based on genome-wide versus putatively adaptive genetic variation.
• To determine if subsets of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identify similar distinctive populations as do genome-wide SNPs.
• To evaluate the reliability of genome-wide data for conservation prioritization.

Main Methods:

• Compiled genome-wide and putatively adaptive SNP data from 34 published plant and animal studies.
• Quantified population distinctiveness using the Shapley value.
• Compared population rankings derived from genome-wide SNPs against those from putatively adaptive SNPs.

Main Results:

• Genome-wide and putatively adaptive SNPs generally agree on which populations to prioritize for conservation.
• The degree of agreement is influenced by the proportion of putatively adaptive SNPs in the dataset.
• Surprisingly, the agreement between adaptive and genome-wide SNPs was stronger than expected compared to random SNP sets.

Conclusions:

• Using genome-wide genetic variation is a robust and cost-effective strategy for prioritizing populations to conserve adaptive potential.
• This approach can safeguard species-level genetic variation essential for ongoing adaptation.
• Findings support the broader application of genome-wide data in conservation planning.