Population genomics of grey wolves and wolf-like canids in North America

2018/11/12 by Mikkel‐Holger S. Sinding, Shyam Gopalakrishan, Filipe Garrett Vieira +15 · 13 citations
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Genetic diversity and population structure #Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock

paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1007745

openalex publication_date 2018/11/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

North America is currently home to a number of grey wolf (Canis lupus) and wolf-like canid populations, including the coyote (Canis latrans) and the taxonomically controversial red, Eastern timber and Great Lakes wolves. We explored their population structure and regional gene flow using a dataset of 40 full genome sequences that represent the extant diversity of North American wolves and wolf-like canid populations. This included 15 new genomes (13 North American grey wolves, 1 red wolf and 1 Eastern timber/Great Lakes wolf), ranging from 0.4 to 15x coverage. In addition to providing full genome support for the previously proposed coyote-wolf admixture origin for the taxonomically controversial red, Eastern timber and Great Lakes wolves, the discriminatory power offered by our dataset suggests all North American grey wolves, including the Mexican form, are monophyletic, and thus share a common ancestor to the exclusion of all other wolves. Furthermore, we identify three distinct populations in the high arctic, one being a previously unidentified "Polar wolf" population endemic to Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Genetic diversity analyses reveal particularly high inbreeding and low heterozygosity in these Polar wolves, consistent with long-term isolation from the other North American wolves.

Citations

• Genome-wide Evidence Reveals that African and Eurasian Golden Jackals Are Distinct Species
• A genome-wide perspective on the evolutionary history of enigmatic wolf-like canids
• International Career Development Trends. Trends and Issues Alert.
• Genome Sequencing Highlights the Dynamic Early History of Dogs
• A framework for variation discovery and genotyping using next-generation DNA sequencing data
• Worldwide patterns of genomic variation and admixture in gray wolves
• Targeted capture and resequencing of 1040 genes reveal environmentally driven functional variation in grey wolves
• The wolf reference genome sequence (Canis lupus lupus) and its implications for Canis spp. population genomics

Cited by

• Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition
• Genomes of Pleistocene Siberian Wolves Uncover Multiple Extinct Wolf Lineages
• Global Phylogeographic and Admixture Patterns in Grey Wolves and Genetic Legacy of An Ancient Siberian Lineage
• Ancient Hybridization with an Unknown Population Facilitated High-Altitude Adaptation of Canids
• Origins and genetic legacy of prehistoric dogs
• Illuminating the mysteries of wolf history
• Persistence and expansion of cryptic endangered red wolf genomic ancestry along the American Gulf coast
• Ancient DNA suggests modern wolves trace their origin to a Late Pleistocene expansion from Beringia
• Pleistocene origins, western ghost lineages, and the emerging phylogeographic history of the red wolf and coyote
• Grey wolf genomic history reveals a dual ancestry of dogs
• Maybe So, Maybe Not: Canis lepophagus at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho, USA
• Coyote [wikipedia]
• Red wolf [wikipedia]