TY  - INPR
A1  - Coimbra, Raphael T. F.
A1  - Winter, Sven
A1  - Muneza, Arthur
A1  - Fennessy, Stephanie
A1  - Otiende, Moses
A1  - Mijele, Domnic
A1  - Masiaine, Symon
A1  - Stacy-Dawes, Jenna
A1  - Fennessy, Julian
A1  - Janke, Axel
T1  - Genomic analysis reveals limited hybridization among three giraffe species in Kenya
T2  - bioRxiv
N2  - Background: In the speciation continuum the strength of reproductive isolation varies, and species boundaries are blurred by gene flow. Interbreeding among giraffe (Giraffa spp.) in captivity is known and anecdotal reports of natural hybrids exist. In Kenya, Nubian (G. camelopardalis camelopardalis), reticulated (G. reticulata), and Masai giraffe sensu stricto (G. tippelskirchi tippelskirchi) are parapatric, and thus the country might be a melting pot for these taxa. We analyzed 128 genomes of wild giraffe, 113 newly sequenced, representing these three taxa.
Results: We found varying levels of Nubian ancestry in 13 reticulated giraffe sampled across the Laikipia Plateau most likely reflecting historical gene flow between these two lineages. Although comparatively weaker signs of ancestral gene flow and potential mitochondrial introgression from reticulated into Masai giraffe were also detected, estimated admixture levels between these two lineages are minimal. Importantly, contemporary gene flow between East African giraffe lineages was not statistically significant. Effective population sizes have declined since the Late Pleistocene, more severely for Nubian and reticulated giraffe.
Conclusions: Despite historically hybridizing, these three giraffe lineages have maintained their overall genomic integrity suggesting effective reproductive isolation, consistent with the previous classification of giraffe into four species.
KW  - East Africa
KW  - gene flow
KW  - Giraffa
KW  - hybridization
KW  - introgression
KW  - population genomics
KW  - speciation
KW  - whole-genome sequencing
Y1  - 2023
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/79447
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-794474
N1  - Später in BMC Biology doi: 10.1186/s12915-023-01722-y
IS  - 2023.09.12.557229
ER  -