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Geographical map depicting the distribution area (according to the IUCN), and sample collection of Mustela lutreola. The distribution area shows where the species currently lives (shaded area) and is possibly extinct (hatched area). Sampling sites are indicated by colours (Russia dark blue; Belarus blue; Estonia light blue; Romania green; France orange; Spain red) and drainage basins by shape (circle; diamond; cross; triangle; square; star). The numbers of samples analysed for microsatellite markers and mtDNA are also indicated
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The European mink (Mustela lutreola, L. 1761) is a critically endangered mustelid, which inhabits several main river drainages in Europe. Here, we assess the genetic variation of existing populations of this species, including new sampling sites and additional molecular markers (newly developed microsatellite loci specific to European mink) as comp...
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... Genetic analysis forms the basis of phylogeography and provides information that is both critical to discussions of taxonomic standing and complementary to other lines of evidence. Genetic data continues to play an important role in taxonomic classifications and a variety of genetic markers have been used to identify subspecies and the distinctiveness of populations (Martien et al., 2017) including nuclear genes, mtDNA, and SNPS's (Cabria et al., 2015;Karimi et al., 2021;Wirgin et al., 2015). Mitochondrial markers are particularly useful for examining intraspecies phylogenies while highly variable microsatellites are used to address ecological questions such as population structure, gene flow, and relatedness (Hapeman et al., 2011;Queller & Goodnight, 1989). ...
... These units guide conservation actions based on distinct evolutionary lineages and aim to preserve the genetic diversity of the species [40,41]. Moreover, the reference genome of the European mink serves as a valuable tool in resolving uncertainties about its past distribution over continental Europe [43,44]. It helps identify regions of high genetic diversity, indicating historical refugia or areas of long-term stability for the species, as well as regions of genetic variation associated with adaptation to specific environments, habitat use, disease resistance, responses to changing conditions, or other crucial ecological factors [10,29]. ...
... Genomic information is essential to examine the impact of reintroduced individuals on shaping the gene pools of wild populations to address potential issues of outbreeding and the risk of losing unique adaptations [40,43]. In this regard, genomic-scale analyses serve as a valuable tool in evaluating potential fitness losses, thus facilitating more informed decisions and enhancing the success of reintroduction and translocation efforts [10,13]. ...
The European mink Mustela lutreola (Mustelidae) ranks among the most endangered mammalian species globally, experiencing a rapid and severe decline in population size, density, and distribution. Given the critical need for effective conservation strategies, understanding its genomic characteristics becomes paramount. To address this challenge, the platinum-quality, chromosome-level reference genome assembly for the European mink was successfully generated under the project of the European Mink Centre consortium. Leveraging PacBio HiFi long reads, we obtained a 2586.3 Mbp genome comprising 25 scaffolds, with an N50 length of 154.1 Mbp. Through Hi-C data, we clustered and ordered the majority of the assembly (>99.9%) into 20 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including heterosomes, ranging from 6.8 to 290.1 Mbp. The newly sequenced genome displays a GC base content of 41.9%. Additionally, we successfully assembled the complete mitochondrial genome, spanning 16.6 kbp in length. The assembly achieved a BUSCO (Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs) completeness score of 98.2%. This high-quality reference genome serves as a valuable genomic resource for future population genomics studies concerning the European mink and related taxa. Furthermore, the newly assembled genome holds significant potential in addressing key conservation challenges faced by M. lutreola. Its applications encompass potential revision of management units, assessment of captive breeding impacts, resolution of phylogeographic questions, and facilitation of monitoring and evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of dedicated conservation strategies for the European mink. This species serves as an example that highlights the paramount importance of prioritizing endangered species in genome sequencing projects due to the race against time, which necessitates the comprehensive exploration and characterization of their genomic resources before their populations face extinction.
... The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is a semi-aquatic mammal whose populations have declined sharply throughout its European range in recent years, making it one of the most endangered mammal species in the world (Maran et al., 2016;Skorupski, 2020). The main threats to the European mink include competition with the invasive American mink (Neovison vison), extremely low genetic diversity, and degradation of its riparian habitat (Cabria et al., 2015;Palazón & Melero, 2014). Therefore, it is crucial to monitor European mink populations in different areas to determine their population size, degree of connectivity, and other important parameters for management and conservation. ...
... However, it is well known that the overall genetic diversity of the European mink is low (Cabria et al., 2015;Skorupski, 2020), and therefore a larger study analyzing the important genetic parameters of the species is essential. ...
The application of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to non-invasive samples is one of the most promising methods in conservation genomics, but these types of samples present significant challenges for NGS. The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is critically endangered throughout its range. However, important aspects such as census size and inbreeding remain still unknown in many populations, so it is crucial to develop new methods to monitor this species. In this work, we placed hair tubes along riverbanks in a border area of the Iberian population, which allowed the genetic identification of 76 European mink hair samples. We then applied a reduced representation genomic sequencing (ddRAD) technique to a subset of these samples to test whether we could extract sufficient genomic information from them. We show that several problems with the DNA, including contamination, fragmentation, oxidation, and possibly sample mixing, affected the samples. Using various bioinformatic techniques to reduce these problems, we were able to unambiguously genotype 19 hair samples belonging to six individuals. This small number of individuals showed that the demographic status of the species in this peripheral population is worse than expected. The data obtained also allowed us to perform preliminary analyses of relatedness and inbreeding. Although further improvements in sampling and analysis are needed, the application of the ddRAD technique to non-invasively obtained hairs represents a significant advance in the genomic study of endangered species. K E Y W O R D S ddRAD, inbreeding, individualization, Mustela lutreola, non-invasive samples, relatedness, spatial capture-recapture
... Low breeding success is reported for captive European mink populations, but this is first and foremost associated with the impact of the captive environment without any evidence of genetic causes (Kiik et al., 2013). There have been some molecular biology studies of European mink, such as phylogenetics (Davison et al., 2000;Hosoda et al., 2011;Koepfli et al., 2008;Korablev et al., 2014;Kurose et al., 2008;Michaux et al., 2004), genetic diversity (Peltier & Lodé, 2003), phylogeography (Cabria et al., 2015;Michaux et al., 2005) and also hybridization studies between European mink and polecat (Cabria et al., 2011). The main focus for all these studies was the wild populations of western and eastern origins. ...
... NUMMERT ET AL. | 5 the shorter sequence length comparison in this study. The NCBI database contains D-loop sequences of various lengths from different research (Cabria et al., 2015;Davison et al., 2000;Korablev et al., 2014;Michaux et al., 2005) and here, the sequences were cut to a shorter length to make all sequences from the database and sequences from this study comparable with each other. It has previously been shown that, indeed, Romanian haplotypes are separated from eastern and western haplotypes and form their own cluster and they are not identical to sequences from other regions (Michaux et al., 2005). ...
... This estimate for the Tallinn Zoo captive subpopulation was 3.51 and for the established island population was 3.90, with a combined average of 3.73. However, another study that analyzed 107 animals from North-Eastern origins, from Russia, Belarus, and Estonia, with the same microsatellite markers, resulted in a much higher allelic richness value of 5.36 (Cabria et al., 2015). The same study also showed a higher overall allelic count-59, in contrast to our finding of 40. ...
The European mink (Mustela lutreola) is one of the most threatened small carnivores, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Tallinn Zoo started a conservation breeding operation in 1980, which in 1992 was shaped into the European mink EEP Program to maintain a demographically and genetically healthy population in captivity. Since 2000, mink have been translocated on a yearly basis from the breeding facility in the zoo to Hiiumaa Island (Estonia) until the formation of the wild island population in 2016. Maintaining a healthy genetic structure in a captive population was a priority, so genetically the least valuable animals, according to calculations made by a population management program, were used for translocation. This study aims to assess the amount of genetic diversity passed from an ex situ population on to the island population. Comparisons of the genetic diversity were made by mitochondrial, microsatellite and nuclear markers. In addition, our results were combined with the pedigree data from the European mink EEP Studbook to further evaluate the flow of genetic diversity from the founder population to the established wild population. According to the findings, the island population's allelic richness was comparable to that of the founder population, and no evidence was found that its genetic structure had diverged from that of the founder population. It seems that the formation of the island population has been a gradual process of no more than the last seven yearly translocations.
... Moreover, French populations are probably highly fragmented, especially in departments where the invasive species is abundant. The low density of individuals in these regions and low genetic diversity of the Western population perhaps due to a bottleneck event (Cabria et al. 2015;Michaux et al. 2005) encouraged the creation of a captive breeding program in Spain at the Fundación para la Investigación en Etología y Biodiversidad (FIEB), with individuals originating from free-ranging populations in Spain. ...
One of the threats that the critically endangered European mink (Mustela lutreola) faces throughout its relict range, including the occidental population, is the impact of the American mink (Mustela vison) invasion in its natural habitat. We aimed to explore the differences in microbiota and genetic diversity between European and American mink to test phylosymbiosis theory. We investigated the gut microbiota composition of European and American mink in controlled environments (captive breeding compounds and fur farms respectively) to account for the impact of the environment on gut bacterial composition. We compared them to the gut microbiota of both mink species in the natural environment across habitats. Our exploratory results showed differences between free-ranging and captive individuals, with more extreme changes in American mink compared to European mink. However, feral American mink from a long-established population exhibited gut bacterial composition closer to the free-ranging native species compared to more recently established feral populations. This result could be explained by dietary shifts in the area sampled based on prey availability through different landscape, but also to a lesser extent due to greater genetic differentiation. This exploratory work contributes to the scarce literature currently available on the dynamics between gut microbiota and mammal invasion.
Graphic Abstract
... The causes of this decline are a combination of invasive species competition and disease transmission, habitat loss and fragmentation, water pollution, and overhunting (Maran and Henttonen 1995;Mañas et al. 2001;Zuberogoitia et al. 2013). European minks in Spain ( Fig. 1) occupy less than 2,300 km of watercourses and have a population size of about 500 individuals with low genetic variability (Michaux et al. 2005;Palazón and Melero 2014;Cabria et al. 2015). ...
Forecasting habitat suitability and connectivity can be central to both controlling invasive species expansion and promoting native species conservation, especially under changing climate conditions. This study aimed to identify and prioritize areas in Spain to control the expansion of one of the most harmful invasive species in Europe, while conserving its counterpart, the endangered European mink, under current and future conditions. We used dynamic ensemble habitat suitability and connectivity models to predict species ranges and movement routes considering likely climate change under three emission scenarios. Then, using habitat availability metrics, we prioritized areas for invasive mink control and native mink conservation and classified them into different management zones that reflected the overlap between species and threat from American to European minks. Results suggest that both species are likely to experience declines in habitat and connectivity under climate change scenarios with significantly larger declines by the end of the century for European minks (72 and 80% respectively) than for American minks (41 and 32%). Priority areas for management of both species varied over time and across emission scenarios, with a general shift in priority habitat towards the North-East of the study area. Our findings demonstrate how dynamic habitat suitability and connectivity approaches can guide long-term management strategies to control invasive species and conserve native species while accounting for likely landscape changes. The simultaneous study of both invasive and native species can support prioritized management action and inform management planning of the intensity, extent, and techniques of intervention depending on the overlap between species.
... Indeed, this theory appears to be more likely. The fossils found in the Netherlands suggest the species used to be widespread in Europe, and genetic studies revealed that the western and eastern populations separated shortly after the last glaciation, after which the western population expanded and restored from a severe and unknown bottleneck effect, crossing the southern French border into Spain (Cabria, 2015). ...
In the past three decennia, a dozen mammal species were saved from the brink of extinction through conservation efforts such as reintroductions. The European mink (Mustela lutreola), as the most critically endangered mammal of Europe, requires increased conservation efforts to survive. Since the abolishment of American mink (Neovison vison) farms in the Netherlands, only a very small number of these animals has been observed in the wild, and therefore the question arose whether it would be feasible to reintroduce the European mink in the Netherlands with one of their major threats gone.
This project aims to study the possibility of the reintroduction of the European mink in the Netherlands based on the IUCN guidelines for reintroduction, to provide an outline and identify the knowledge gaps that need to be filled for a successful reintroduction in the future.
In general, most threats to the European mink have been mitigated. The presence of the American mink needs to be monitored closely, and its inability to settle in the Netherlands compared to other countries should be researched. The European mink is unlikely to pose a large risk to native Dutch biodiversity such as meadow birds, but is instead likely to consume invasive American crayfish species and aid in its control. There are several societal issues to overcome: the image of the general public of the European mink might be tainted due to COVID-19, and fishermen and trappers are likely to feel inconvenienced. Proper communication and support is necessary to ensure a long-lasting successful project.
The most suitable locations appear to be the Weerribben-Wieden and the Biesbosch, although their prey availability in winter months needs to be studied. A habitat suitability analysis needs to be conducted. The release of animals would have to occur over a span of multiple years, and to reduce the stress of travel in the animals, the best course of action would be to set up a breeding centre in the Netherlands. Each year pregnant females can then be placed in a soft-release enclosure, which can be opened up in August to allow the mothers and their young out in the wild.
More research is needed on proper monitoring methods, such as the suitability of radio-harnesses compared to intraperitoneal transmitters and the usage of scats for DNA analysis.
... In the same studies, additional analysis was performed, including sequences used by Michaux et al. [16], indicating π = 0.0134 and H d = 0.98. Overall values of the same indicators, calculated by Cabria et al. [149] for 157 specimens from three distinct populations and based on the 614 bp mtDNA fragment including the 3 -end of the cytb gene and the control region, were 0.005 and 0.857, respectively. The number of haplotypes identified for these populations was 1 to 13. ...
In this paper, a complete mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered European mink Mustela lutreola L., 1761 is reported. The mitogenome was 16,504 bp in length and encoded the typical 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes, and harboured a putative control region. The A+T content of the entire genome was 60.06% (A > T > C > G), and the AT-skew and GC-skew were 0.093 and −0.308, respectively. The encoding-strand identity of genes and their order were consistent with a collinear gene order characteristic for vertebrate mitogenomes. The start codons of all protein-coding genes were the typical ATN. In eight cases, they were ended by complete stop codons, while five had incomplete termination codons (TA or T). All tRNAs had a typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except tRNASer(AGC) and tRNALys, which lacked the DHU stem and had reduced DHU loop, respectively. Both rRNAs were capable of folding into complex secondary structures, containing unmatched base pairs. Eighty-one single nucleotide variants (substitutions and indels) were identified. Comparative interspecies analyses confirmed the close phylogenetic relationship of the European mink to the so-called ferret group, clustering the European polecat, the steppe polecat and the black-footed ferret. The obtained results are expected to provide useful molecular data, informing and supporting effective conservation measures to save M. lutreola.
... In order to estimate the sampling completeness (the difference between the observed richness and the estimated asymptotic richness), a dataset consisting of results reported by Davison et al. [26], Michaux et al. [27,28], Korablev et al., [29] and Cabria et al., [30] was constructed (Table S1-S5). Such a meta-analytical approach allowed us to capture all the available data for the intraspecific genetic diversity of the species. ...
... no. EU548035-EU548051) [30]. In total, 424 individuals were examined in the research mentioned. ...
... inhabiting Southwestern France, as well as the Northern and Western parts of Spain), and the Southeastern (SE; inhabiting the Danube Delta in Romania), as ascertained by Michaux et al. [28] and Cabria et al., [30]. To avoid a pseudoreplication problem, the results reported by the abovementioned authors were screened for possible haplotype duplications and, thus, data redundancy. ...
Although properly designed sampling in population genetic studies is of key importance for planning evidence-informed conservation measures, sampling strategies are rarely discussed. This is the case for the European mink Mustela lutreola, a critically endangered species. In order to address this problem, a meta-analysis aiming to examine the completeness of mtDNA haplotype sampling in recent studies of M. lutreola inter-population genetic diversity was conducted. The analysis was performed using the sample-size-based rarefaction and extrapolation sampling curve method for three populations-the Northeastern (Russia, Belarus and Estonia), the Western (France and Spain), and the Southeastern (Romania). The extrapolated values of the Shannon-Wiener index were determined, assuming full sample coverage. The gap between the measured and predicted inter-population genetic diversity was estimated, indicating that the identified level of sample coverage was the lowest for the NE population (87%), followed by the SE population (96%) and the W population (99%). A guide for sampling design and accounting for sampling uncertainty in future population genetic studies on European mink is provided. The relatively low sample coverage for the Russian population clearly indicates an urgent need to take conservation measures for European mink in this country.
... To date, works by Volobuev and Ternovsky [16], Volobuev et al. [17], Graphodatsky et al. [18], Graphodatsky et al. [19], and Graphodatsky and Radjabli [20], strongly affiliated with the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk (Russia), are the primary sources of information on M. lutreola karyotype. Further research on the genetics of European mink relates primarily to genetic markers [9,21], the phylogenetic relationships of the species [22-26], noninvasive methods of identification [27], assessment of intraspecies genetic diversity [8,14,[28][29][30], and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies [24,28,31,32]. Worth mentioning are studies concerning molecular ecology on issues relating to European mink and implementing genetic research methods [33][34][35][36]. ...
... Mlut04 EF093582 (GT) 16 5 Mlut08 EF093583 (GT) 12 4 Mlut15 EF093585 (GT) 14 5 Mlut20 EF093587 (GT) 18 8 Mlut25 EF093588 (GT) 15 6 Mlut27 EF093589 (GT) 8 NN(GT) 14 2 Mlut32 EF093590 (GT) 59 8 Mlut35 EF093591 (GT) 15 NNNN(GT) 4 NN(GT) 7 4 Microsatellite markers of European mink were successfully amplified in other species of the Mustelidae family, including in Mustela eversmanii, Mustela putorius furo, M. sibirica, M. nivalis, N. vison, Mustela erminea, Martes martes, and Martes foina, among others [9,48], demonstrating the possibility of using of the STR markers of M. lutreola in studies on genomes of other mustelids. In turn, Peltier and Lodé [45], Michaux et al. [8], Lodé et al. [49], and Cabria et al. [30] positively assessed the possibility of using starter sequences developed for amplification of microsatellites in the genome of other species of the Mustelidae family for studies on the population genetics, phylogenetics, and phylogeography of European mink (Table 2). ...
... Michaux et al. [8], Cabria et al. [30], Peltier and Lodé [45], Lodé et al. [49] European polecat PutFK1 Peltier and Lodé [45] Stoat Mer009, Mer022, Mer041 Michaux et al. [8], Cabria et al. [30] ...
The purpose of this review is to present the current state of knowledge about the genetics of European mink Mustela lutreola L., 1761, which is one of the most endangered mammalian species in the world. This article provides a comprehensive description of the studies undertaken over the last 50 years in terms of cytogenetics, molecular genetics, genomics (including mitogenomics), population genetics of wild populations and captive stocks, phylogenetics, phylogeography, and applied genetics (including identification by genetic methods, molecular ecology, and conservation genetics). An extensive and up-to-date review and critical analysis of the available specialist literature on the topic is provided, with special reference to conservation genetics. Unresolved issues are also described, such as the standard karyotype, systematic position, and whole-genome sequencing, and hotly debated issues are addressed, like the origin of the Southwestern population of the European mink and management approaches of the most distinct populations of the species. Finally, the most urgent directions of future research, based on the research questions arising from completed studies and the implementation of conservation measures to save and restore M. lutreola populations, are outlined. The importance of the popularization of research topics related to European mink genetics among scientists is highlighted.
