One Wolf’s Junk is Another Wolf’s Treasure: Insights into the Role of Transposable Elements in Admixed North American Canid Genomes

Abstract

Eukaryotes are a diverse group of species where at first glance no two members seem to be alike. However, through the rapidly developing study of genomics, one type of DNA has come to challenge that idea, and that is none other than the transposable element (TE). These segments of genetic material once thought to be useless are proving to be much more active than scientists had anticipated – by changing their position within a genome as activated by environmental stress or other conditions, TEs can alter the baseline production of genetic material, in turn affecting species’ diversity and fitness. This paper argues that the accumulation of TE activity that is reflected in the genome, known as TE load, can be used as a tool for understanding the effects of evolution on members of the Canis genus, which have faced the threat of extinction in the past and may as well face it in the future if proper conservation tactics are not employed. The results of this study demonstrate that TE count as tracked in several North American canids significantly differ between zones of admixture and non-admixture, supporting the correlation of TE activation with stress, and that this TE load can have deleterious effects on canid fertility, as individuals with higher TE counts were discovered to produce less pups.