Epigenomic variation in the European brown bear: a pilot study to assess feasibility and potential of RRBS for the study of population adaptive differentiation

Mechanisms such as gene expression and epigenetic patterns play an important role in the adaptation to local environmental conditions and selective pressures, introducing non-genetic variability within the same species.Here, by using a reduced representation bisulfite sequencing approach (RRBS), we compared the methylation patterns in blood and muscle among three brown bear populations with profoundly different demographic and genetic trajectories, i.e. Central Apennines, Italian Alpine, and Scandinavian to uncover epigenetic differences and clues of local adaptation profiles.

基因表达、表观遗传模式（epigenetic patterns）等机制，在物种适应局部环境条件与选择压力的过程中发挥关键作用，并可于同一物种内催生非遗传变异。本研究采用简化代表性亚硫酸氢盐测序（reduced representation bisulfite sequencing, RRBS）技术，对三个种群统计学与遗传演化轨迹差异显著的棕熊种群——即亚平宁山脉中部种群、意大利阿尔卑斯种群以及斯堪的纳维亚种群——的血液与肌肉组织甲基化模式开展对比分析，旨在揭示表观遗传差异与局部适应特征的相关线索。