Local genetic adaptation to habitat in wild chimpanzees.
Harrison J OstridgeClaudia FontsereEsther LizanoDaniela C SotoJoshua M SchmidtVrishti SaxenaMarina Alvarez-EstapeChristopher D BarrattPaolo GrattonGaëlle BocksbergerJack D LesterPaula DieguezAnthony AgborSamuel AngedakinAlfred Kwabena AssumangEmma BaileyDonatienne BarubiyoMattia BessoneGregory BrazzolaRebecca ChancellorHeather CohenCharlotte CouplandEmmanuel DanquahTobias DeschnerLaia DotrasJef DupainVillard Ebot EgbeAnne-Céline GranjonJosephine HeadDaniela HedwigVeerle HermansR Adriana Hernandez-AguilarKathryn J JefferySorrel JonesJessica JunkerParag KadamMichael KaiserAmmie K KalanMbangi KambereIvonne KienastDeo KujirakwinjaKevin E LangergraberJuan LapuenteBradley LarsonAnne LaudisoitKevin C LeeManuel LlanaGiovanna MarettiRumen MartínAmelia MeierDavid MorganEmily NeilSonia NichollStuart NixonEmmanuelle NormandChristopher OrbellLucy Jayne OrmsbyRobinson OrumeLiliana PachecoJodie PreeceSebastien RegnautMartha M RobbinsAaron RundusCrickette SanzLilah SciakyVolker SommerFiona A StewartNikki TaggLuc Roscelin TédonzongJoost van SchijndelElleni VendrasErin G WesslingJacob WillieRoman M WittigYisa Ginath YuhKyle YurkiwLinda VigilantAlex PielChristophe BoeschHjalmar S KühlMegan Y DennisTomas Marques-BonetMimi ArandjelovicAida M AndrésPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2024)
How populations adapt to their environment is a fundamental question in biology. Yet we know surprisingly little about this process, especially for endangered species such as non-human great apes. Chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, are particularly interesting because they inhabit diverse habitats, from rainforest to woodland-savannah. Whether genetic adaptation facilitates such habitat diversity remains unknown, despite having wide implications for evolutionary biology and conservation. Using 828 newly generated exomes from wild chimpanzees, we find evidence of fine-scale genetic adaptation to habitat. Notably, adaptation to malaria in forest chimpanzees is mediated by the same genes underlying adaptation to malaria in humans. This work demonstrates the power of non-invasive samples to reveal genetic adaptations in endangered populations and highlights the importance of adaptive genetic diversity for chimpanzees.