The evolutionary history of extinct and living lions

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

de Manuel, M (Author) Other; Barnett, R (Author) Other; Sandoval Velasco, M (Author) Other; Yamaguchi, N (Author) Other; Vieira, FG (Author) Other; Mendoza, MLZ (Author) Other; Liu, SP (Author) Other; Martin, MD (Author) Other; Sinding, MHS (Author) Other; Mak, SST (Author) Other; Caroe, C (Author) Other; Liu, SL (Author) Other; Guo, CX (Author) Other; Zheng, J (Author) Other; Zazula, G (Author) Other; Baryshnikov, G (Author) Other; Eizirik, E (Author) Other; Koepfli, KP (Author) Other; Johnson, WE (Author) Other; Agostinho Antunes (Author) FCUP; Sicheritz Ponten, T (Author) Other; Gopalakrishnan, S (Author) Other; Larson, G (Author) Other; Yang, HM (Author) Other; O'Brien, SJ (Author) Other; Hansen, AJ (Author) Other; Zhang, GJ (Author) Other; Marques Bonet, T (Author) Other; Gilbert, MTP (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Vol. 117

ISSN: 0027-8424

Publisher: National Academy of Sciences

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 52 Citations

Scopus - 57 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-5YW

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1919423117

Abstract (EN): Lions are one of the world's most iconic megafauna, yet little is known about their temporal and spatial demographic history and population differentiation. We analyzed a genomic dataset of 20 specimens: two ca. 30,000-y-old cave lions (Panthera leo spelaea), 12 historic lions (Panthera leo leolPanthera leo melanochaita) that lived between the 15th and 20th centuries outside the current geographic distribution of lions, and 6 present-day lions from Africa and India. We found that cave and modern lions shared an ancestor ca. 500,000 y ago and that the 2 lineages likely did not hybridize following their divergence. Within modern lions, we found 2 main lineages that diverged ca. 70,000 y ago, with clear evidence of subsequent gene flow. Our data also reveal a nearly complete absence of genetic diversity within Indian lions, probably due to well-documented extremely low effective population sizes in the recent past. Our results contribute toward the understanding of the evolutionary history of lions and complement conservation efforts to protect the diversity of this vulnerable species.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8