Genome-Wide Evolutionary Analysis of Natural History and Adaptation in Tigers

This study sequenced genomes from tigers representing multiple subspecies to reconstruct their demographic history and detect local adaptation. The authors found that tigers share a recent common ancestor on the order of one hundred thousand years ago and that distinct populations, including the Amur, Bengal, Sumatran, and others, are genetically differentiated despite this recency. They identified signatures of selection, including a metabolic gene candidate associated with body-size and cold adaptation in the northern Amur tiger. The work supported recognizing multiple tiger conservation units and demonstrated how whole-genome data can reveal both the shallow time depth and the real differentiation of an endangered big cat's populations.