Data from: Real-time assessment of hybridization between wolves and dogs: combining non-invasive samples with ancestry informative markers

Wolves and dogs provide a paradigmatic example of the ecological and
conservation implications of hybridization events between wild and
domesticated forms. However, our understanding of such implications has
been traditionally hampered by both high genetic similarity and the
difficulties in obtaining tissue samples (TS), which limit our ability to
assess ongoing hybridization events. To assess the occurrence and
extension of hybridization in a pack of wolf-dog hybrids in Northwestern
Iberia, we compared the power of 52 nuclear markers implemented on TS with
a subset of 13 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) typed in non-invasive
samples (NIS). We demonstrate that the 13 AIMs are as accurate as the 52
markers that were chosen without regard to the power to differentiate
between wolves and dogs, also having the advantage of being rapidly
screened on NIS. The efficiency of AIMs significantly outperformed ten
random sets of similar size and an additional commercial set of 18
markers. Bayesian clustering analysis implemented on AIMs and NIS
identified nine hybrids, two wolves and two dogs. Four hybrids were
unambiguously assigned to F1xWolf backcrosses. Our approach (AIMs + NIS)
overcomes previous difficulties related to sample availability and
informative power of markers, allowing a quick identification of wolf-dog
hybrids in the first phases of hybridization episodes. This provides
managers with a reliable tool to evaluate hybridization, and estimate the
success of their actions. This approach may be easily adapted for other
pairs of wild/domesticated species, thus improving our understanding of
the introgression of domestication genes into natural populations.

狼与犬为野生与驯化类群间杂交事件的生态学及保护意义提供了典型范式。然而，传统上我们对这类意义的认知受限于两点：一是二者极高的遗传相似性，二是获取组织样本（tissue samples, TS）的难度，这两点制约了我们评估当前杂交事件的能力。为评估伊比利亚西北部一群狼犬杂交种群中杂交事件的发生范围与程度，我们对比了基于组织样本（TS）开发的52个核标记的效能，以及一套基于非侵入式样本（non-invasive samples, NIS）分型的13个祖先信息标记（ancestry informative markers, AIMs）子集的效能。研究表明，这13个AIMs的准确性与未考虑狼犬区分效能筛选出的52个标记相当，且具备可快速对非侵入式样本进行分型的优势。AIMs的检测效率显著优于10组同规模的随机标记集，以及一套额外的18个商业化标记集。基于AIMs与非侵入式样本的贝叶斯聚类分析共鉴定出9只杂交个体、2只狼与2只犬，其中4只杂交个体被明确归为F1×狼回交后代。我们的方法（AIMs + 非侵入式样本）克服了此前样本可获取性与标记信息效能相关的局限，可快速鉴定杂交初期阶段的狼犬杂交个体。这为管理者提供了可靠工具，以评估杂交情况并估算保护措施的成效。该方法可轻松适配其他野生/驯化物种对，从而深化我们对驯化基因向自然种群渐渗过程的理解。