title: Aye-aye population genomic analyses highlight an important center of endemism in northern Madagascar.
abstract: We performed a population genomics study of the aye-aye, a highly specialized nocturnal lemur from Madagascar. Aye-ayes have low population densities and extensive range requirements that could make this flagship species particularly susceptible to extinction. Therefore, knowledge of genetic diversity and differentiation among aye-aye populations is critical for conservation planning. Such information may also advance our general understanding of Malagasy biogeography, as aye-ayes have the largest species distribution of any lemur. We generated and analyzed whole-genome sequence data for 12 aye-ayes from three regions of Madagascar (North, West, and East). We found that the North population is genetically distinct, with strong differentiation from other aye-ayes over relatively short geographic distances. For comparison, the average FST value between the North and East aye-aye populations--separated by only 248 km--is over 2.1-times greater than that observed between human Africans and Europeans. This finding is consistent with prior watershed- and climate-based hypotheses of a center of endemism in northern Madagascar. Taken together, these results suggest a strong and long-term biogeographical barrier to gene flow. Thus, the specific attention that should be directed toward preserving large, contiguous aye-aye habitats in northern Madagascar may also benefit the conservation of other distinct taxonomic units. To help facilitate future ecological- and conservation-motivated population genomic analyses by noncomputational biologists, the analytical toolkit used in this study is available on the Galaxy Web site.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. ghp3@psu.edu
authors.forename: George H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: Edward E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: Aakrosh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ratan
authors.forename: Oscar C
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Bedoya-Reina
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Burhans
authors.forename: Runhua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Steig E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Stephan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Webb
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005828:Genetics, Population; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D020407:Internet; D007900:Lemur / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D008270:Madagascar; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013997:Time Factors