Data from: Y chromosome haplotype distribution of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Northern Europe provides insight into population history and recovery (Ursus arctos)

High-resolution, male-inherited Y-chromosomal markers are a useful tool for population genetic analyses of wildlife species, but to date have only been applied in this context to relatively few species besides humans. Using nine Y-chromosomal STR and three Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphism markers (Y-SNPs), we studied whether male gene flow was important for the recent recovery of the brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Northern Europe, where the species declined dramatically in numbers and geographic distribution during the last centuries but is expanding now. We found 36 haplotypes in 443 male extant brown bears from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Northwestern Russia. In 14 individuals from southern Norway from 1780 to 1920, we found two Y chromosome haplotypes present in the extant population as well as four Y chromosome haplotypes not present among the modern samples. Our results suggested major differences in genetic connectivity, diversity, and structure between the eastern and the western populations in Northern Europe. In the west, our results indicated that the recovered population originated from only four male lineages, displaying pronounced spatial structuring suggestive of large-scale population size increase under limited male gene flow within the western subpopulation. In the east, we found a contrasting pattern, with high haplotype diversity and admixture. This first population genetic analysis of male brown bears shows conclusively that male gene flow was not the main force of population recovery.

高分辨率父系遗传Y染色体标记是开展野生动物种群遗传学分析的有效工具，但截至目前，除人类外，该类标记在该领域的应用仅涉及相对较少的物种。本研究采用9个Y染色体短串联重复序列（Y-chromosomal STR）标记与3个Y染色体单核苷酸多态性（Y-SNPs）标记，探究雄性基因流对北欧棕熊（Ursus arctos）近期种群恢复的作用。此前数个世纪间，该物种的种群数量与地理分布均出现大幅缩减，当前其种群正处于扩张阶段。我们对采自瑞典、挪威、芬兰与俄罗斯西北部的443只现存雄性棕熊进行基因分型，共获得36种单倍型。我们对14件采集于1780年至1920年的挪威南部棕熊标本进行分析，检出两种现存种群中存在的Y染色体单倍型，以及四种未在现代样本中发现的Y染色体单倍型。研究结果表明，北欧棕熊东部与西部种群在遗传连通性、遗传多样性及种群结构上均存在显著差异。西部种群的分析结果显示，恢复后的种群仅起源于四个雄性支系，且呈现出显著的空间结构，提示西部亚种群在有限的雄性基因流条件下发生了大规模的种群数量扩张。东部种群则呈现出相反的模式，单倍型多样性较高且存在广泛的遗传混合。此项针对雄性棕熊的首个种群遗传学分析，确凿证实雄性基因流并非此次棕熊种群恢复的主要驱动力。