Padrões de diversidade genética de onças-pintadas em biomas brasileiros inferidos a partir da análise de genomas completos

Abstract

The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest felid in the Americas, a top predator that is threatened due to habitat loss and fragmentation, compounded by conflict with humans and wildlife trafficking. A key aspect of the design, implementation and monitoring of conservation programs for this species is the analysis of its patterns of genomic diversity in habitats with different levels of fragmentation. In this study, 10 whole genomes of free-living jaguars were sequenced, which were analyzed along with 10 other genomes reported previously by our research group. This sample of 20 genomes, representing different Brazilian biomes, allowed the analysis of diversity patterns, particularly focusing on the prevalence of Runs of Homozygosity, in remaining jaguar populations. We observed high levels of homozygosity, indicating recent inbreeding, in individuals sampled in the coastal Atlantic Forest, some individuals from the Inner Atlantic Forest, and one Amazonian individual sampled in the ‘Deforestation Arc’. The observed patterns allowed the conclusion that habitat fragmentation, leading to the disconnection among small jaguar populations remaining in some regions, generate measurable, and in some cases severe, effects in the genomes of the sampled individuals. These results provide relevant information to empower conservation and management strategies for jaguars in the Brazilian biomes in which the species still persists.