Unraveling genome- and immunome-wide genetic diversity in modern and historical Jaguars

Title (eng)
Unraveling genome- and immunome-wide genetic diversity in modern and historical Jaguars
Author
René Meißner
Author
Sven Winter
Author
Jean Pierre Elbers
Author
Martin Plášil
Author
Ján Futas
Author
Elmira Mohandesan
Author
Muhammad Bilal Sharif
Author
Petr Horin
Author
Stefan Prost
Author
Pamela Burger
Abstract (eng)
Background The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a keystone species within diverse ecosystems ranging from dense rainforests to open grasslands across Central and South America. However, its populations are declining rapidly due to anthropogenic actions, such as deforestation and poaching. Here we investigate the effects of this decline on genetic diversity and genetic health. Utilizing both modern and historical museum samples, we infer population structure and immunome variability in 25 jaguars to identify unique genetic diversity that can inform targeted conservation efforts. Results Our genome-wide analyses identifies three distinct geographic populations: Central America, South American lowlands, and South American highlands. Modern samples that exhibit lower levels of heterozygosity also show higher levels of inbreeding. The South American lowland population shows the lowest levels of inbreeding, while the highland population exhibits the lowest overall immunome-wide variability. However, the innate (Natural Killer Cell Complex, Toll-Like Receptor) and adaptive (Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II) immune genes, which are crucial for adaptive responses and disease resilience, show high diversity in terms of heterozygosity and haplotype diversity in individuals of all three populations. Conclusions South American highland and Central American jaguars face significant threats from habitat loss and fragmentation. The observed genome- and immunome-wide diversity in historical and modern jaguars reflect their recent demographic decline and challenges of local adaptation. We recommend re-evaluating evolutionarily significant units to prioritize conservation strategies, ensuring the preservation of unique genetic and adaptive diversity crucial for the species’ resilience and long-term survival.
Keywords (eng)
Jaguar ConservationGenetic DiversityPopulation StructureEvolutionarily Significant UnitsImmune Response GenesNKCTLRMHC
Type (eng)
journal article
Language
[eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:5132
DOI
10.1186/s13059-025-03868-0
Is in series
Title (eng)
Genome Biology
Volume
26
Issue
1
ISSN
1474-760X
Issued
2025
Number of pages
22
Publication
Springer
Version type (eng)
version of record (published version)
Date issued
2025
Access rights (eng)
open access
License
CC BY 4.0 International
Rights statement (eng)
© The Author(s) 2025