PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Justin B. Johnson
AU  - Dennis L. Murray
AU  - Aaron B.A. Shafer
TI  - Methylation patterns reveal cryptic structure and a pathway for adaptive divergence in a panmictic carnivore
AID  - 10.1101/316711
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 316711
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/16/316711.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/05/16/316711.full
AB  - Determining molecular signatures of population divergence is a fundamental component of evolutionary biology. Identifying divergence is particularly challenging between populations of highly mobile species that undergo substantial gene flow, such as the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), where populations are considered panmictic when only neutral genetic markers are considered. Here, we used high-throughput bisulfite sequencing to examine the environmental determinants of methylation structure across the distributional range of Canada lynx. Despite a high degree of genetic similarity among mainland populations, epigenetic structure did not mirror these neutral patterns, instead showing environmental associations and high levels of divergence in the peripheral Newfoundland and Alaskan populations. Interestingly, a disproportionate number of genes related to body-size were hypermethylated on the island of Newfoundland, providing a possible mechanism for adaptive evolution and the observed island effect on organism size. Our results indicate that epigenetic modifications, specifically DNA methylation, are powerful markers to investigate adaptive divergence and rapid evolutionary response.