Oral Presentation Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Conference 2016

Demographic history and population structure of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with implacations for global conservation strategies (#181)

Peter Frandsen 1 2 , Marc de Manuel Montero 3 , David D. Hughes 3 , Claudia Fontsere 3 , Jessica Hernandez 3 , Vitor Sousa 4 , Martin Kuhlwilm 3 , Chimpanzee Diversity Consortium , Laurent Excoffier 4 , Aylwyn Scally 5 , Yali Xue 6 , Chris Tyler-Smith 6 , Hans Redlef Siegismund 1 , Christina Hvilsom 2 , Tomas Marques-Bonet 3 7
  1. Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, COPENHAGEN, Denmark
  2. Copenhagen Zoo, Copenhagen, Denmark
  3. Institut de Bilogia Evolutiva (CSIC/UPF), PRBB, Barcelona, Spain
  4. Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
  5. Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  6. Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
  7. CNAG/CRG, Barcelona, Spain

Large-scale population genomics have recently provided novel insight to the diversity and evolutionary history of the great apes, including our own closest living relative, the chimpanzee. However, limited by a lack of precise geographical information, our knowledge on the local demographic history and fine-scale population structure of chimpanzees is still incomplete. Such knowledge is crucial when setting future conservation strategies for chimpanzees, both in situ and ex situ.To fill this knowledge gap, we have analyzed a comprehensive dataset of 60 wild born chimpanzee genomes, covering all four subspecies sampled across their natural distribution range. From this project, we present an unpreceded fine scale inference of complex demographic histories and a tight link between geography and local layers of genetic population structure. Apart from valuable insights to the local evolutionary past of the chimpanzee, these findings have allowed us to identify ancestry informative markers (AIM). We will show how this panel of AIMs can be used to re-assign confiscated individuals to their geographical origin, demonstrating a novel tool to combat illegal trafficking of chimpanzees along with the means to provide an accurate genetic guidance for global ex situ conservation management plans.