ABOVE: A Florida panther seeks refuge up a live oak in Big Cypress National Preserve, Ochopee, Florida.
DARREL LAND, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION
The first whole-genome sequencing of the puma (Puma concolor), also known as a cougar, mountain lion, or Florida panther, is complete and could aid conservation efforts, according to a paper published Friday (October 18) in Nature Communications.
Researchers led by Beth Shapiro, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and evolutionary biologist at University of California, Santa Cruz, sequenced the genomes of 10 pumas throughout North and South America: five in the western United States, three from Florida, and one from Brazil.
The team found that North American pumas may have diverged from South American ones as long as 300,000 years ago, compared to past estimates of 20,000 years ago. They also analyzed genetic markers and found evidence of close inbreeding, a problem that may have gotten worse ...
