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Effects of captivity, diet and relocation on the gut bacterial communities of white-footed mice
Van Leeuwen, Pauline; Mastromonaco, Gabriela; Mykytczuk, Nadia; Schulte-Hostedde, Albrecht — 2020-12-07 Microbes can have important impacts on their host’s survival. Captive breeding programs for endangered species include periods of captivity that can ultimately have an impact on reintroduction success. No study to date has investigated the impacts of captive diet on the gut microbiota during the relocation process of generalist species. This study simulated a captive breeding program with white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) to describe the variability in gut microbial community structure and composition during captivity and relocation in their natural habitat, and compared it to wild individuals. Mice born in captivity were fed two different diets, a control with dry standardized pellets, and a treatment with non-processed components that reflect a version of their wild diet that could be provided in captivity. The mice from the two groups were then relocated to their natural habitat. Relocated mice that had the treatment diet had more phylotypes in common with the wild-host microbiota than mice under the control diet or mice kept in captivity. These results have broad implications for our understanding of microbial community dynamics and the effects of captivity on reintroduced animals, including the potential impact on the survival of endangered species. This study demonstrates that ex situ conservation actions should consider a more holistic perspective of an animal’s biology including its microbes.
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Functional genetic diversity of domestic and wild American mink (Neovison vison )
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Morris, Kimberley Y.; Bowman, Jeff; Schulte-Hostedde, Albrecht; Wilson, Paul J. — 2020-08-07 <p>The release of domestic organisms to the wild threatens biodiversity because the introduction of domestic genes through interbreeding can negatively impact wild conspecifics via outbreeding depression. In North America, farmed American mink (<i>Neovison vison</i>) frequently escape captivity, yet the impact of these events on functional genetic diversity of wild mink populations is unclear. We characterized domestic and wild mink in Ontario at 17 microsatellites located in functional genes and in a promoter region that is non-coding but thought to be associated with traits affected by domestication. We found low functional genetic diversity in both mink types, as only 4 of 17 genes were variable, and the number of alleles per locus were generally lower in captive mink than in wild mink. To determine if allele frequencies of wild populations were affected by domestic release events, we performed redundancy analysis and spatial analysis of principal components on four polymorphic loci (AR, ATN1, IGF-1, and TOB1). We found evidence to suggest domestic release events are affecting the functional genetic diversity of wild mink, as sPCA showed clear distinctions between wild individuals near mink farms and those located in areas without mink farms. This is further substantiated through RDA, where spatial location was associated with genetic variation of AR, ATN1, and IGF1.</p>

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(Author: Schulte-Hostedde, Albrecht)

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