Líffræðifélag Íslands
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2015

Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster V96

Genome genotyping of ptarmigans using ddRAD

Máney Sveinsdóttir (1,2), Kristen Marie Westfall (2), Zophonías O Jónsson (2), Páll Melsted (2), Ólafur K Nielsen (4), Kristinn P Magnússon (1,5)

1. Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Akureyri, 2. Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 3. Department of Computer Sciences, University of Iceland, 4. Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Garðabær, 5. Icelandic Institute of Natural History, Akureyri

Kynnir / Presenter: Kristinn P. Magnússon

Tengiliður / Corresponding author: Kristinn P. Magnússon (kpm@unak.is)

We have already subjected the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and its sister species, willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) to whole genome sequencing (WGS). In this study we continue our search for polymorphic markers in natural populations of ptarmigans that can help us to understand the functional role of genetic variation in evolutionary processes and conservation issues. We have applied ddRAD (double digesting Restriction site Associated DNA) which is a fractional genomic sequencing strategy that enables identification and genotyping of genetic variation using next generation DNA sequencing (NGS). This technique generates long sequence reads of regions adjacent to conserved restriction endonuclease recognition sites across the genomes of multiple bird samples. We have performed a preliminary testing of ddRAD on genomes from 34 rock ptarmigans which revealed ~ 20.000 polymorphic SNP loci. The results indicate that the method is promising, but needs to be optimized. We will use the ddRAD method to compare genetic make up of ptarmigan populations from different circumpolar regions, Iceland, Svalbard, Norway, North America and Asia.