Table 1.
Examples of Tasmanian devil conservation questions, actions, and outcomes that have been facilitated by the reference genome.
| Reference Genome Use | Conservation Questions Addressed | Conservation Actions | Conservation Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Microsatellite development • Genome-wide SNP analysis |
• Were the founders related? • Does the metapopulation have equal founder representation to ensure the maintenance of gene diversity? • Is inbreeding accumulating in group housing and Maria island insurance populations? |
• Resolved relatedness of founders [43] • Resolved parentage in group housing within the metapopulation [50,52,54] • Reconstructed pedigree of island population [53] • Informed translocation recommendations [63] |
• Tool for selecting individuals for translocations based on genetic complementation • Improved maintenance of genetic diversity across captive populations • Increased genetic diversity of hybrid individuals at wild release sites |
| • The characterization of DFTD strains | • How many DFTD strains exist? | • Appropriate management of wild populations [46,64,65] | • Assisted in managing the spread of new DFTD strains |
|
• The characterization of immune genes • Primer design and SNP panel development • Targeted SNP analysis |
• Can we develop a vaccine for DFTD? • Can we improve Tasmanian devil immune diversity? |
• Immunization development and deployment [66]. Immune gene diversity analysis for informed translocation recommendations [67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75] |
• Improved immune responses of devils released to the wild • Improved immunogenetic diversity of released Tasmanian devils and their resultant offspring |
| • Development of blocking primer for metagenomics diet analysis | • What constitutes the complete diet of Tasmanian devils on Maria Island? | • Investigating the impact of an introduced carnivore to island wildlife | • Mitigation implemented to reduce the impact on highly consumed species |
|
• Alignment of resequenced genomes • SNP Analysis and Annotation • GWAS |
• Are devils evolving host-parasite resistance to DFTD? | • Ongoing monitoring to ensure releases do not impact the evolution of potential resistance alleles [76,77,78,79] | • Assisted in understanding regions of the genome that are potentially involved in DFTD resistance |