Abstract：
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is among the few large carnivores that survived the Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions. Thanks to their complex history of admixture and extensive geographic range, the number of gray wolf subspecies and their phylogenetic relationships remain poorly understood. Here, we perform whole-genome sequencing of a gray wolf collected from peninsular India that was phenotypically distinct from gray wolves outside India. Genomic analyses reveal that the Indian gray wolf is an evolutionarily distinct lineage that diverged from other extant gray wolf lineages ∼110 thousand years ago. Demographic analyses suggest that the Indian wolf population declined continuously decline since separating from other gray wolves and, today, has exceptionally low genetic diversity. We also find evidence for pervasive and mosaic gene flow between the Indian wolf and African canids including African wolf, Ethiopian wolf, and African wild dog despite their current geographical separation. Our results support the hypothesis that the Indian subcontinent was a Pleistocene refugium and center of diversification and further highlight the complex history of gene flow that characterized the evolution of gray wolves.
摘要：
灰狼（Canis狼疮）是在晚更新世大动物灭绝中幸存下来的少数大型食肉动物之一。由于其复杂的混合历史和广泛的地理范围，灰狼亚种的数量及其系统发育关系仍然知之甚少。这里,我们对从印度半岛收集的灰狼进行全基因组测序，该灰狼的表型与印度以外的灰狼不同。基因组分析表明，印度灰狼是一个进化上独特的谱系，与110万年前的其他现存灰狼谱系不同。人口统计分析表明，自从与其他灰狼分离以来，印度狼的数量持续下降，今天,遗传多样性极低。我们还发现了印度狼和包括非洲狼在内的非洲犬科动物之间普遍存在和马赛克基因流动的证据，埃塞俄比亚狼,和非洲野狗，尽管它们目前在地理上是分开的。我们的结果支持以下假设：印度次大陆是更新世的避难所和多样化的中心，并进一步突出了以灰狼进化为特征的基因流的复杂历史。
