Analysing signatures of environmental selection in Pacific Coastal wolvesTrajbarič, Aleksander (Avtor) Stronen, Astrid Vik (Mentor) Skrbinšek, Tomaž (Komentor) Canis lupusenvironmental selectiongenetic signaturessingle nucleotide polymorphismThe interest of studies aiming to associate the environment and genetic signatures is immense. In case of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) in northwestern North America there are adjacent populations in inland and coastal habitats that have distinct climates and food resources. Earlier studies suggest relatively high gene flow among inland wolf populations, but limited gene flow between inland and coastal wolf populations. The coastal wolves are therefore genetically isolated and carry a distinct genomic profile. Here, we examined 152 genetic profiles of inland and coastal wolf populations, based on 67171 SNP markers. We report outlier SNP loci detected between the inland and coastal populations that are associated with genes for metabolism, neuronal, skeletal, dental, immune, and integumental attributes. We associated differences in genetic profiles of the studied populations to their respective environments and ecology. We present that the discovered selection signatures may be related to marine parasites and other infections, metabolic and physiological adaptations to a potentially higher salt and fat intake, and morphological adaptations related to specifics in foraging strategies. Although these results must be interpreted with caution, also given the presence of related individuals and inaccurate sampling locations, they provide valuable information for conservation planning and future research.[A. Trajbarič]20232023-09-16 07:16:12Magistrsko delo/naloga150346UDK: 577.21:599.744.111(043.2)VisID: 229830COBISS_ID: 164707587sl