Population genetic structure in farm and feral American mink (Neovison vison) inferred from RAD sequencing-generated single nucleotide polymorphisms

J. P. Thirstrup*, A. Ruiz-Gonzalez, J. M. Pujolar, P. F. Larsen, J. Jensen, E. Randi, A. Zalewski, C. Pertoldi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Feral American mink populations (Neovison vison), derived from mink farms, are widespread in Europe. In this study we investigated genetic diversity and genetic differentiation between feral and farm mink using a panel of genetic markers (194 SNP) generated from RAD sequencing data. Sampling included a total of 211 individuals from 14 populations, 4 feral and 10 from farms, the latter including a total of 7 color types (Brown, Black, Mahogany, Sapphire, White, Pearl, and Silver). Our study revealed similar low levels of genetic diversity in both farm and feral mink. Results are consistent with small effective population size as a consequence of line selection in the farms and founder effects of a few escapees from the farms in feral populations. Moderately high genetic differentiation was found between farm and feral animals, suggesting a scenario in which wild populations were founded from farm escapes a few decades ago. Currently, escapes and gene flow are probably limited. Genetic differentiation was higher among farm color types than among farms, consistent with line selection using few individuals to create the lines. Finally, no indications of inbreeding were found in either farm or feral samples, with significant negative FISvalues found in most farm samples, showing farms are successful in avoiding inbreeding.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Animal Science
Volume93
Issue number8
Pages (from-to)3773-3782
Number of pages10
ISSN0021-8812
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Aug 2015

Keywords

  • Farm mink
  • Feral mink
  • Genetic diversity
  • Inbreeding
  • Population structure

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