The genome of the black-footed cat: Revealing a rich natural history and urgent conservation priorities for small felids

作者：Jiaqing Yuan, Andrew C. Kitchener, Laurie Bingaman Lackey, Ting Sun, Qigao Jiangzuo, Yilamujiang Tuohetahong, Le Zhao, Peng Yang, Guiqiang Wang, Chen Huang, Jinhong Wang, Wenhui Hou, Yang Liu, Wu Chen, Da Mi, William J. Murphy, Gang Li · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.2310763120 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies、Genetic diversity and population structure、Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals

Habitat degradation and loss of genetic diversity are common threats faced by almost all of today’s wild cats. Big cats, such as tigers and lions, are of great concern and have received considerable conservation attention through policies and international actions. However, knowledge of and conservation actions for small wild cats are lagging considerably behind. The black-footed cat, Felis nigripes , one of the smallest felid species, is experiencing increasing threats with a rapid reduction in population size. However, there is a lack of genetic information to assist in developing effective conservation actions. A de novo assembly of a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of the black-footed cat was made, and comparative genomics and population genomics analyses were carried out. These analyses revealed that the most significant genetic changes in the evolution of the black-footed cat are the rapid evolution of sensory and metabolic-related genes, reflecting genetic adaptations to its characteristic nocturnal hunting and a high metabolic rate. Genomes of the black-footed cat exhibit a high level of inbreeding, especially for signals of recent inbreeding events, which suggest that they may have experienced severe genetic isolation caused by habitat fragmentation. More importantly, inbreeding associated with two deleterious mutated genes may exacerbate the risk of amyloidosis, the dominant disease that causes mortality of about 70% of captive individuals. Our resear...