Trans-Atlantic genomic differentiation and parallel environmental and allelic variation in Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)

Abstract

Abstract In marine species with large populations and high dispersal potential, large-scale genetic differences and clinal trends in allele frequency can provide insight into the evolutionary processes that shape diversity. Lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus, is found throughout the North Atlantic and has traditionally been harvested for roe and more recently used as a cleaner fish in salmon aquaculture. We used a 70 K SNP array to evaluate trans-Atlantic differentiation, genetic structuring, and clinal variation across the North Atlantic. Basin-scale structuring between the Northeast and Northwest Atlantic was significant, with enrichment for loci associated with developmental/mitochondrial function. We identified a putative structural variant on chromosome 2, likely contributing to differentiation between Northeast and Northwest Atlantic Lumpfish, and consistent with post-glacial trans-Atlantic secondary contact. Redundancy analysis identified climate associations both in the Northeast (N = 1269 loci) and Northwest (N = 1637 loci), with 103 shared loci between them. Clinal patterns in allele frequencies were observed in some loci (15%—Northwest and 5%—Northeast) of which 708 loci were shared and involved with growth, developmental processes, and locomotion. The combined evidence of trans-Atlantic differentiation, environmental associations, and clinal loci, suggests that both regional and large-scale potentially-adaptive population structuring is present across the North Atlantic.