Use of the nucleotide diversity in COI mitochondrial gene as an early diagnostic of conservation status of animal species

Species assessed as threatened by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) show evidence of declining population sizes. Genetic diversity is lost by this decline, which reduces the adaptive potential of the species and increases its extinction risk in a changing environment. In this...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Petit‐Marty, Natalia, Vázquez-Luis, Maite, Hendriks, Iris E.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/225870
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/225870
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Adaptive potential
Biodiversity conservation
COI DNA Barcode
Extinction
Genetic diversity
IUCN
Pinna nobilis
http://metadata.un.org/sdg/15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Descripción
Sumario:Species assessed as threatened by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) show evidence of declining population sizes. Genetic diversity is lost by this decline, which reduces the adaptive potential of the species and increases its extinction risk in a changing environment. In this study, we collected an extensive dataset of nucleotide diversities in the COI (Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I) mitochondrial gene for 4,363 animal species assessed by IUCN and found significantly reduced levels of diversity in threatened species of long‐lived animal classes. Then, we built up a comparative frame by acquiring the 95% confidence interval (CI) of mean values of COI nucleotide diversity in bootstrapped samples of nonthreatened species. Finally, we tested the comparative frame with data from the endangered bivalve species, Pinna nobilis. We conclude that nucleotide diversity in COI is a good proxy for a first evaluation of the conservation status of species populations, where previous knowledge is lacking and census is difficult to perform.