IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Nussberger, B.; Greminger, M.P.; Grosse, C.; Keller, L.F.; Wandeler, P. | |
| Development of SNP markers identifying European wildcats, domestic cats, and their admixed progeny | |
| 2013 Molecular Ecology Resources (13): 447-460 | |
Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (_Felis silvestris catus_) is a major concern for the conservation of European wildcats (_Felis s. silvestris_). The available morphologic and genetic markers for the two Felis subspecies are not sufficient to reliably detect hybrids beyond first generation. Here we present a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based approach that allows the identification of introgressed individuals. Using high-throughput sequencing of reduced representation libraries we developed a diagnostic marker set containing 48 SNPs (FST > 0.8) which allows the identification of wildcats, domestic cats, their hybrids and backcrosses. This allows assessing introgression rate in natural wildcat populations and is key for a better understanding of hybridization processes. |
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