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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Ecol. Evol.
Sec. Evolutionary and Population Genetics
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1504225

Intraspecific epigenomics divergence in brown bears (Ursus arctos): insights from genome-wide DNA methylation patterns

Provisionally accepted
Paolo Colangelo Paolo Colangelo 1,2,3Ian Marc Bonapace Ian Marc Bonapace 4Laura Gramolini Laura Gramolini 1*Emanuela Solano Emanuela Solano 1,2Elisa Desiato Elisa Desiato 4Paolo Franchini Paolo Franchini 5Leonardo Gentile Leonardo Gentile 6Roberto Guadagnini Roberto Guadagnini 7Oddmund Kleven Oddmund Kleven 8Jonas Kindberg Jonas Kindberg 8Alexander Kopatz Alexander Kopatz 8Paolo Ciucci Paolo Ciucci 9
  • 1 Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council (CNR), Montelibretti, Italy
  • 2 National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
  • 3 National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Lazio, Italy
  • 4 University of Insubria, Varese, Lombardia, Italy
  • 5 University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy
  • 6 Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Pescasseroli, Italy
  • 7 Clinica veterinaria zoolife, Trento, Italy
  • 8 Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Sør-Trøndelag, Norway
  • 9 Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Epigenetic mechanisms such as methylation can influence gene expression and play a crucial role in the adaptation to local environmental conditions, thereby introducing non-genetic variability within species. Here, using a Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing approach (RRBS), we compared the methylation patterns in blood and muscle across three European brown bear populations. Our results clearly demonstrated that, beyond tissue-driven divergences, the methylation patterns of the three populations are significantly distinct. Differentially methylated sites, possibly associated with genomic features involved in development and anatomical differentiation, are widespread across the bear genome. This finding supports previous studies suggesting a role for the alteration of developmental pathways in shaping phenotypic novelties with potential adaptative significance. Our results underscore the importance and the effectiveness of including epigenetic approaches in studying wild non-model organisms. Investigating the epigenome can be especially relevant for endangered populations that have experienced a significant erosion of genomic diversity.

    Keywords: RRBS, methylome, Non-model, gene ontology, conservation, Population

    Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Colangelo, Bonapace, Gramolini, Solano, Desiato, Franchini, Gentile, Guadagnini, Kleven, Kindberg, Kopatz and Ciucci. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Laura Gramolini, Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council (CNR), Montelibretti, 00015, Italy

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