Crown-of-thorns sea star germline mutation rate_Popovic_etal_2024

Popovic et al. (2024) reports the first germline mutation rate estimate for a marine invertebrate using high coverage whole-genome sequencing of 14 parent-offspring trios of crown-of-thorns sea stars (n=28). Understanding how levels of genetic diversity levels are maintained in natural populations and their relationship to species abundance is central to many conservation problems. We address this question in ecologically important crown-of-thorns sea stars to advance our understanding about the determinants of genetic diversity in species undergoing extreme population size fluctuations.

Popovic等人（2024）通过对14组刺冠海星（crown-of-thorns sea stars）的亲子三联体开展高覆盖度全基因组测序，首次报道了一种海洋无脊椎动物的生殖系突变率估算值，该研究总样本量为n=28。阐明自然种群中遗传多样性水平的维持机制及其与物种种群丰度的关联，是诸多保护生物学问题的核心议题。本研究以具有重要生态意义的刺冠海星为研究对象，针对上述问题展开探究，以期增进学界对经历极端种群规模波动的物种的遗传多样性决定因素的认知。