Genome sequence and population declines in the critically endangered greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) and implications for conservation

Background: The greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) is a member of the Family Lemuridae that is unique in their dependency on bamboo as a primary food source. This Critically Endangered species lives in small forest patches in eastern Madagascar, occupying a fraction of its historical range. Here we sequence the genome of the greater bamboo lemur for the first time, and provide genome resources for future studies of this species that can be applied across its distribution.
Results: Following whole genome sequencing of five individuals we identified over 152,000 polymorphic single nucleotide variants (SNVs), and evaluated geographic structuring across nearly 19k SNVs. We characterized a stronger signal associated with a north-south divide than across elevations for our limited samples. We also evaluated the demographic history of this species, and infer a dramatic population crash. This species had the largest effective population size (estimated between ~900,000 to one million indivi...