Genome-culture coevolution promotes rapid divergence of killer whale ecotypes

Andrew D. Foote (), Nagarjun Vijay, María C. Ávila-Arcos, Robin W. Baird, John W. Durban, Matteo Fumagalli, Richard A. Gibbs, M. Bradley Hanson, Thorfinn S. Korneliussen, Michael D. Martin, Kelly M. Robertson, Vitor C. Sousa, Filipe G. Vieira, Tomáš Vinař, Paul Wade, Kim C. Worley, Laurent Excoffier, Phillip A. Morin, M. Thomas P. Gilbert and Jochen B.W. Wolf ()
Additional contact information
Andrew D. Foote: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University
Nagarjun Vijay: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University
María C. Ávila-Arcos: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Robin W. Baird: Cascadia Research
John W. Durban: Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Matteo Fumagalli: Evolution, and Environment, UCL Genetics Institute, University College London
Richard A. Gibbs: Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza
M. Bradley Hanson: Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Thorfinn S. Korneliussen: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Michael D. Martin: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Kelly M. Robertson: Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
Vitor C. Sousa: Computational and Molecular Population Genetics Laboratory, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern
Filipe G. Vieira: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Tomáš Vinař: Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynska Dolina
Paul Wade: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Kim C. Worley: Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza
Laurent Excoffier: Computational and Molecular Population Genetics Laboratory, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern
Phillip A. Morin: Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
M. Thomas P. Gilbert: Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Jochen B.W. Wolf: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Analysing population genomic data from killer whale ecotypes, which we estimate have globally radiated within less than 250,000 years, we show that genetic structuring including the segregation of potentially functional alleles is associated with socially inherited ecological niche. Reconstruction of ancestral demographic history revealed bottlenecks during founder events, likely promoting ecological divergence and genetic drift resulting in a wide range of genome-wide differentiation between pairs of allopatric and sympatric ecotypes. Functional enrichment analyses provided evidence for regional genomic divergence associated with habitat, dietary preferences and post-zygotic reproductive isolation. Our findings are consistent with expansion of small founder groups into novel niches by an initial plastic behavioural response, perpetuated by social learning imposing an altered natural selection regime. The study constitutes an important step towards an understanding of the complex interaction between demographic history, culture, ecological adaptation and evolution at the genomic level.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11693

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