Mapping the introduction of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United Kingdom using genomic analysis
The SARS-CoV-2 virus was introduced to the United Kingdom well over 1,000 times in early 2020, according to researchers who analyzed more than 50,000 viral sequences from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The virus lineages introduced before the UK’s national lockdown in March tended to be larger and more geographically […]
High genomic variability predicts success in desert tortoise refugees; could inform conservation
Tortoise refugees with the highest genetic variation are far more likely to survive conservation translocation than tortoises whose genetic diversity is lower, according to a new study. The findings suggest that translocation efforts should account for genetic variation when selecting target individuals rather than focusing solely on those determined to be most geographically or genetically […]
Genomic data ‘catches corals in the act’ of speciation and adaptation
A) Porites lobata (yellow massive morphology) shown next to Porites compressa (blue-grey branching morphology) side by sidein the same habitat; (B) example of variation in bleaching susceptibility of P. compressa in Kāne’ohe Bay. Credit: Forsman, et al. (2020) A new study led by the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) […]
