The complex Y‐chromosomal history of gorillas. Issue 3 (18th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Städele, Veronika; Arandjelovic, Mimi; Nixon, Stuart; Bergl, Richard A.; Bradley, Brenda J.; Breuer, Thomas; Cameron, Kenneth N.; Guschanski, Katerina; Head, Josephine; Kyungu, Jean C.; Masi, Shelly; Morgan, David B.; Reed, Patricia; Robbins, Martha M.; Sanz, Crickette; Smith, Vincent; Stokes, Emma J.; Thalmann, Olaf; Todd, Angelique; Vigilant, Linda
• Is Part Of: American journal of primatology. Volume 84:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-01-18
• Subjects: diversity -- genetic distance -- microsatellite -- phylogeny -- short tandem repeat; Primates -- Periodicals; Primates -- Périodiques; 599.8
• DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23363
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0275-2565

Abstract

Abstract: Studies of the evolutionary relationships among gorilla populations using autosomal and mitochondrial sequences suggest that male‐mediated gene flow may have been important in the past, but data on the Y‐chromosomal relationships among the gorilla subspecies are limited. Here, we genotyped blood and noninvasively collected fecal samples from 12 captives and 257 wild male gorillas of known origin representing all four subspecies ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla, G. g. diehli, G. beringei beringei, and G. b. graueri ) at 10 Y‐linked microsatellite loci resulting in 102 unique Y‐haplotypes for 224 individuals. We found that western lowland gorilla ( G. g. gorilla ) haplotypes were consistently more diverse than any other subspecies for all measures of diversity and comprised several genetically distinct groups. However, these did not correspond to geographical proximity and some closely related haplotypes were found several hundred kilometers apart. Similarly, our broad sampling of eastern gorillas revealed that mountain ( G. b. beringei ) and Grauer's ( G. b. graueri ) gorilla Y‐chromosomal haplotypes did not form distinct clusters. These observations suggest structure in the ancestral population with subsequent mixing of differentiated haplotypes by male dispersal for western lowland gorillas, and postisolation migration or incomplete lineage sorting due to short divergence times for eastern gorillas. Abstract : Y‐chromosomal relationships among gorilla subspecies. Highlights: We use microsatellite haplotypes of 224 individuals of mostly known geographic origin to describe the previously poorly characterized diversity and evolutionary relationships of the Y‐chromosome of all four gorilla subspecies. Western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) consistently showed the highest diversity. Overall, the evolutionary relationships among the subspecies are complex, likely characterized by historical periods of isolation and migration. Future work using a large number of complete Y‐chromosomal sequences generated from noninvasively collected samples may shed further light on the complex evolutionary history of the genus.