Abstract
Simple SummaryOne of the major drivers of genetic pollution is artificial translocation, which causes hybridization and introgression. We analyzed genetic markers of Grey and Rock Partridges from collections, wild populations and farms, mostly in Italy. We documented a mismatch between morphology and DNA in the identification of some individuals, as well as hybridization between the two genera of the Grey and Rock Partridges: Perdix and Alectoris. Our results suggest that species of the two genera can hybridize in nature and that artificial translocations and releases of farm reared birds for restocking or reintroduction purposes may be only partially responsible for the DNA-morphology mismatches of Italian partridges.Translocations and releases of farm-reared birds are considered among the major drivers of genetic pollution with consequent loss of genetic diversity in wild populations. In this study, we aimed to assess the extent of hybridization and introgression in the Italian partridges as a consequence of translocation. We surveyed two mitochondrial markers and one nuclear marker of Alectoris and Perdix from collections (museums and private collections), extant wild populations and farms. Consistent with previous studies, we found haplotypes of allochthonous species within the same genus, likely due to introductions for hunting activities. In addition, we found hybrids between Perdix and Alectoris species with genetic markers from both genera in single individuals. Such introgression was bidirectional and in both mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Counterintuitively, most of the hybrid samples came from collections before the 1950s, when large-scale translocations started, from wild populations where Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) and Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca) overlap in their distribution, whereas only one hybrid occurred among the farmed birds. Our results suggest that Perdix and Alectoris species can hybridize in nature and that artificial translocations and releases of farm-reared birds for restocking or reintroduction purposes may be only partially responsible for the genomic mismatches of Italian partridges.
Highlights
The Phasianidae Horsfield 1821 family includes several small to large ground-living game birds and is the richest of the seven traditional families of the Galliformes Temminck 1820 order [1,2]
Two of the three markers were from the mitochondrial genome, namely a fragment of the protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I (COI), and a fragment of the non-protein-coding displacement loop, Displacement Loop (DLOOP); the third marker was from the nuclear genome, representing a fragment of the oocyte maturation factor mos, CMOS
The main result of our survey focused on Italian Grey and Rock Partridges is that genetic diversity of each of the two species passed into the other species
Summary
The Phasianidae Horsfield 1821 family includes several small to large ground-living game birds and is the richest of the seven traditional families of the Galliformes Temminck 1820 order [1,2]. In Europe, there are several autochthonous, native species belonging to Phasianidae, many of which have a particular economic importance as game birds for hunting activities, which frequently cause direct or indirect conservation problems for the species [10,11]. Two of such genera are Alectoris Kaup 1829 and Perdix Brisson 1760, both characterized by historical hunting exploitation [12,13,14,15,16,17] and frequent human-mediated hybridization among different species of the same genus [15,16,18,19,20,21]. These authors documented natural hybridization zones where two species get in touch spontaneously along the boundaries of the respective distribution range [22]
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