Data from: Epigenetic and genetic variation among three separate introductions of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) into Australia

Invasive populations are often associated with low levels of genetic diversity due to population bottlenecks at the initial stages of invasion. Despite this, the ability of invasive species to adapt rapidly in response to novel environments is well documented. Epigenetic mechanisms have recently been proposed to facilitate the success of invasive species by compensating for reduced levels of genetic variation. Here, we use MS-AFLP and microsatellite analyses to compare levels of epigenetic and genetic diversity and differentiation across 15 sites in the introduced Australian house sparrow population. We find patterns of epigenetic and genetic differentiation that are consistent with historical descriptions of three distinct, introductions events. However unlike genetic differentiation, epigenetic differentiation was higher among sample sites than among invasion clusters, suggesting that patterns of epigenetic variation are more strongly influenced by local environmental stimuli or sequential founder events than the initial diversity in the introduction population. Interestingly, we fail to detect correlations between pairwise site comparisons of epigenetic and genetic differentiation, suggesting that some of the observed epigenetic variation has arisen independently of genetic variation. We also fail to detect the potentially compensatory relationship between epigenetic and genetic diversity that has been detected in a more recent house sparrow invasion in Africa. We discuss the potential for this relationship to be obscured by recovered genetic diversity in more established populations, and highlight the importance of incorporating introduction history into population-wide epigenetic analyses.

Usage Notes
DataHouseSparrowEpigeneticsEpigenetic binary haplotype data for house sparrow DNA samples assayed with MSAFLP.

入侵种群通常因入侵初期种群瓶颈效应而导致遗传多样性水平较低。尽管如此，入侵物种对新颖环境的快速适应能力已有充分记录。近期，表观遗传机制被提出，认为其通过补偿遗传变异水平的降低，有助于入侵物种的成功。在本研究中，我们采用MS-AFLP和微卫星分析技术，对比了引入的澳大利亚家麻雀种群在15个地点的表观遗传和遗传多样性与分化水平。我们发现，表观遗传和遗传分化模式与对三个不同引入事件的描述一致。然而，与遗传分化不同，表观遗传分化在样本地点之间的差异高于入侵集群之间的差异，这表明表观遗传变异的模式受局部环境刺激或连续的奠基事件的影响，而非引入种群中的初始多样性。有趣的是，我们在表观遗传和遗传分化的成对地点比较中未能发现相关性，这表明某些观察到的表观遗传变异是独立于遗传变异而产生的。我们同样未能检测到在非洲最近的一次家麻雀入侵中发现的表观遗传和遗传多样性之间可能存在的补偿关系。我们讨论了这种关系可能被更稳定的种群中恢复的遗传多样性所掩盖的可能性，并强调了将引入历史纳入种群水平表观遗传分析的重要性。

使用说明
数据集描述：用于家麻雀DNA样本的MS-AFLP测定的家麻雀表观遗传二进制单倍型数据。