Data from: Development of SNP markers identifying European wildcats, domestic cats, and their admixed progeny

Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) is a major concern for the conservation of European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris). The available morphologic and genetic markers for the two Felis subspecies are not sufficient to reliably detect hybrids beyond first generation. Here we present a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based approach that allows the identification of introgressed individuals. Using high-throughput sequencing of reduced representation libraries we developed a diagnostic marker set containing 48 SNPs (Fst>0.8) which allows the identification of wildcats, domestic cats, their hybrids and backcrosses. This allows assessing introgression rate in natural wildcat populations and is key for a better understanding of hybridization processes.

基因渐渗（introgression）是一类重要的进化驱动力，但同时也可能引发物种灭绝，因此是物种保护领域的核心议题。然而，无论从形态学还是遗传学层面，基因渐渗都难以被有效检测。与家猫（Felis silvestris catus）的杂交，是欧洲野猫（Felis silvestris silvestris）物种保护面临的主要关切之一。当前针对这两个猫属亚种的形态学与遗传学标记，均无法可靠检测第一代之后的杂交个体。本文提出一种基于单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP）的研究方法，可用于鉴定发生基因渐渗的个体。通过简化基因组文库（reduced representation libraries）的高通量测序技术，我们开发了一套包含48个SNP位点（遗传分化系数Fst>0.8）的诊断标记集，能够准确区分野猫、家猫及其杂交后代与回交个体。该方法可用于评估野生猫自然种群中的基因渐渗率，同时为深入解析杂交过程提供关键支撑。