Data from: A genome-wide data assessment of the African lion (Panthera leo) population genetic structure and diversity in Tanzania

The African lion (Panthera leo), listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Appendix II of CITES), is mainly impacted by indiscriminate killing and prey base depletion. Additionally, habitat loss by land degradation and conversion has led to the isolation of some subpopulations, potentially decreasing gene flow and increasing inbreeding depression risks. Genetic drift resulting from weakened connectivity between strongholds can affect the genetic health of the species. In the present study, we investigated the evolutionary history of the species at different spatiotemporal scales. Therefore, the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (N = 128), 11 microsatellites (N = 103) and 9,103 SNPs (N = 66) were investigated in the present study, including a large sampling from Tanzania, which hosts the largest lion population among all African lion range countries. Our results add support that the species is structured into two lineages at the continental scale (West-Central vs East-Southern), underlining the importance of reviewing the taxonomic status of the African lion. Moreover, SNPs led to the identification of three lion clusters in Tanzania, whose geographical distributions are in the northern, southern and western regions. Furthermore, Tanzanian lion populations were shown to display good levels of genetic diversity with limited signs of inbreeding. However, their population sizes seem to have gradually decreased in recent decades. The highlighted Tanzanian African lion population genetic differentiation appears to have resulted from the combined effects of anthropogenic pressure and environmental/climatic factors, as further discussed.非洲狮（Panthera leo）被列入《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（CITES）附录Ⅱ以及国际自然保护联盟（IUCN）濒危物种红色名录，列为易危物种，其生存主要受无差别滥杀与猎物种群枯竭的威胁。此外，土地退化与土地开发转化导致的栖息地丧失，致使部分亚种群出现隔离，可能降低基因交流水平并加剧近交衰退风险；核心种群栖息地间连通性减弱引发的遗传漂变，亦会影响该物种的遗传健康。 本研究针对不同时空尺度下非洲狮的演化历史展开探究。为此，本研究对线粒体细胞色素b基因（样本量N=128）、11个微卫星位点（样本量N=103）以及9103个单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNPs）位点（样本量N=66）进行分析，其中包含来自坦桑尼亚的大量样本——坦桑尼亚是所有非洲狮分布国中狮种群规模最大的国家。 本研究结果进一步证实，非洲狮在大陆尺度下可划分为两个演化支系（西非-中非支系与东非-南非支系），凸显了重新评估非洲狮分类学地位的重要性。此外，基于单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）分析，坦桑尼亚境内的非洲狮可划分为三个遗传集群，其地理分布分别对应该国北部、南部与西部地区。 进一步分析显示，坦桑尼亚的非洲狮种群展现出较高的遗传多样性水平，近交衰退迹象较为有限，但近几十年来该种群的数量似乎呈逐步下降趋势。 本研究指出，坦桑尼亚非洲狮种群的遗传分化似乎是人为活动压力与环境/气候因素共同作用的结果，相关内容将在后续部分展开深入讨论。