Title

The evolutionary history of extinct and living lions

Authors

Marc de Manuel, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona
Ross Barnett, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Marcela Sandoval-Velasco, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Filipe Garrett Vieira, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
M. Lisandra Zepeda Mendoza, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Shiping Liu
Michael D. Martin, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
Mikkel Holger S. Sinding, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Sarah S.T. Mak, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Christian Carøe, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Shanlin Liu, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Chunxue Guo
Jiao Zheng, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Grant Zazula, Government of Yukon
Gennady Baryshnikov, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Eduardo Eizirik, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
Klaus Peter Koepfli, Conservation and Research Center (National Zoo)
Warren E. Johnson, Conservation and Research Center (National Zoo)
Agostinho Antunes, University of Porto, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Greger Larson, Oxford Social Sciences Division
Huanming Yang, James D. Watson Institute of Genome Sciences
Stephen J. O'Brien, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, Center for Computer Technologies, ITMO (Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics) University; Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Anders J. Hansen, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Guojie Zhang, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Tomas Marques-Bonet, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona
M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-19-2020

Publication Title

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Keywords

Evolution, Genomics, Lion

ISSN

10916490

Volume

117

Issue/No.

20

First Page

10927

Last Page

10934

Abstract

Lions are one of the world's most iconic megafauna, yet little is known about their temporal and spatial demographic history and population differentiation. We analyzed a genomic dataset of 20 specimens: two ca. 30,000-y-old cave lions (Panthera leo spelaea), 12 historic lions (Panthera leo leo/Panthera leo melanochaita) that lived between the 15th and 20th centuries outside the current geographic distribution of lions, and 6 present-day lions from Africa and India. We found that cave and modern lions shared an ancestor ca. 500,000 y ago and that the 2 lineages likely did not hybridize following their divergence. Within modern lions, we found 2 main lineages that diverged ca. 70,000 y ago, with clear evidence of subsequent gene flow. Our data also reveal a nearly complete absence of genetic diversity within Indian lions, probably due to well-documented extremely low effective population sizes in the recent past. Our results contribute toward the understanding of the evolutionary history of lions and complement conservation efforts to protect the diversity of this vulnerable species.

NSUWorks Citation

de Manuel, Marc; Ross Barnett; Marcela Sandoval-Velasco; Nobuyuki Yamaguchi; Filipe Garrett Vieira; M. Lisandra Zepeda Mendoza; Shiping Liu; Michael D. Martin; Mikkel Holger S. Sinding; Sarah S.T. Mak; Christian Carøe; Shanlin Liu; Chunxue Guo; Jiao Zheng; Grant Zazula; Gennady Baryshnikov; Eduardo Eizirik; Klaus Peter Koepfli; Warren E. Johnson; Agostinho Antunes; Thomas Sicheritz-Ponten; Shyam Gopalakrishnan; Greger Larson; Huanming Yang; Stephen J. O'Brien; Anders J. Hansen; Guojie Zhang; Tomas Marques-Bonet; and M. Thomas P. Gilbert. 2020. "The evolutionary history of extinct and living lions." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117, (20): 10927-10934. doi:10.1073/pnas.1919423117.

DOI

10.1073/pnas.1919423117