Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/512921

Genomic approaches reveal an endemic sub-population of gray wolves in Southern China

Wang, G.-D.·Zhang, M.·Wang, X.·Yang, M. A.·Cao, P.·Liu, F.·Lu, H.·Feng, X.·Skoglund, P.·Wang, L.·Fu, Q.·Zhang, Y.-P.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Despite being one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammals, the history of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in China is not well understood as their habitats have been destroyed with growing economic development. Using six specimens from wolf skins in Chinese Natural History museums, we sequenced their genome using a modified ancient DNA procedure. Using whole genome sequence analysis, we showed that gray wolves from Southern China (SC) derive from a single lineage, distinct from gray wolves from the Tibetan Plateau (Canis lupus chanco) and Northern China, suggesting that SC gray wolves may form a distinct sub-population. Of SC gray wolves, one wolf from Zhejiang carries a genetic component from a canid that must have diverged earlier from other wolves than jackals did, perhaps through gene flow from a population related to or further diverged from wolves than the dhole, a species distributed in Southern China and Southeast Asia. This may indicate that interspecific gene flow likely played an important role in shaping the speciation patterns and population structure in the genus Canis. Our study is the first to survey museum genomes of gray wolves from Southern China, revealing the presence of an endemic population with ancient interspecific gene flow from a population related to the dhole, and highlighting how sequencing the paleogenome from museum specimens can help us to study extinct species.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

evolutionary biologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Wang, G.-D., Zhang, M., Wang, X., Yang, M. A., Cao, P., Liu, F., Lu, H., Feng, X., Skoglund, P., Wang, L., Fu, Q., Zhang, Y.-P.. 2019-01-08. Genomic approaches reveal an endemic sub-population of gray wolves in Southern China. https://doi.org/10.1101/512921

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

A timeline for evolution of metabolism in early microbes

The metabolism of early microbes shaped our planet's chemistry and enabled more life to evolve. However, it remains uncertain when many forms of metabolism arose and which organisms carried them out. Here we combine machine learning, metabolic networks, and phylogenomics of microbes to date 14 forms of metabolism and 6 other traits. We find that metabolism evolved in three waves, starting >3.4 billion years ago (Ga) with fermentation and sulfur compound respiration. A second wave began ~3.2 Ga with aerobic respiration and growth, while a third began ~1.4 Ga with further specialization. We compared these predictions with independent dates from the geochemical record, and agreement with conservative dates was good (CCC = 0.81 to 0.89). Several forms of metabolism are invisible in the geochemical record, and our approach dates these forms, too. Our results reconcile different lines of evidence for microbial evolution and provide a fuller picture of early Earth.

evolutionary biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Sexual interactions and local selection shape reproductive gene diversity and divergence

Genes involved in genotype x genotype coevolution display unique patterns of nucleotide diversity and population divergence. In Drosophila melanogaster, Sex Peptide is a key sperm competition gene that is an outlier for both pi within populations and Fst between populations. This pattern is not predicted by current theoretical expectations of selective sweeps highlighting the need to develop predictions to identify genes experiencing balancing selection. We compared pi and FST in D. melanogaster populations to identify other genes following a co-evolutionary model that generates divergence and diversity. Multiple male and female genes that interact with Sex Peptide exhibited elevated FST x pi values. Genome-wide analyses also revealed an enrichment of genes critical for neuronal development, pointing to courtship evolution. Specifically, fruitless, its interacting genes, and a female behavior gene were identified as outliers. These parallel findings indicate that both sperm competition and mating behaviors are subject to co-evolutionary selection.

evolutionary biology↗
bioRxiv2026

How Fisherian runaway halts: Genomic architecture determines the long-term evolutionary consequences of sexual selection.

Sexual selection explains the evolution of exaggerated sexual displays, but less obvious is why biased mate preferences--a requirement for sexual selection--evolve. Fisher (1930) proposed that biased mate preferences can spark self-reinforcing evolutionary process (runaway) that drives their own evolution. This occurs because mate choice imposes sexual selection on sexual displays and links them genetically to mate preferences, producing indirect selection on the preferences themselves. While mathematical models have demonstrated the plausibility of the runaway theory, they rely on several idealized assumptions. Consequently, it remains poorly understood how runaway halts once populations deviate from these idealized conditions as a consequence of evolution via runaway, and how the genetic architecture underlying sexual displays influences the resulting evolutionary dynamics. Here, we address these gaps using two complementary approaches. First, we review and synthesize existing theories to classify the mechanisms that halt runaway into four categories, based on which idealized assumptions of Lande's (1981) classic model are violated during evolution via runaway. Second, we conduct individual-based evolutionary simulations varying the genetic architecture of sexual displays from conventional additive to omnigenic inheritance models. Our results show that genetic architecture determines how runaway process halts, thereby governing long-term evolutionary dynamics under sexual selection.

evolutionary biology↗