Elinor Karlsson

We had a go at assessing domestication status of some bacteria in our paper and it made my brain hurt.

We define domestication on the level of populations, not species, although we propose a way extend that to classify species.

We decided to leave the argument about whether dogs are actually a species to someone else, since we’d already spend 4 years on the paper.

It’s probably still an impossible question to answer, of course, bc of all the absolutely fascinating gray areas. If the ancestral wolf population that was the origin of dogs is no longer around, but a possibly very phenotypically distinct population of grey wolves is, is that a yes or a no?

A universally applicable definition for domestication | PNAS The process of domestication is commonly perceived as a human achievement, and domestic species are typically assumed to be those under human contr...

This is an impossible question to answer without first coming up with a way to consistently define what you mean by a domestic species. So we did! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Elinor Karlsson kicked off our morning session: ‚Behavior Evolution: Mechanisms and Change‘ and introduced her research on dogs. Her research is driven by questions such as do breeds have distincive behaviors or how did a wolf become a dog?

@elinork.bsky.social

karlssonlab.org/about/people...

Kennedy Withdraws U.S. Funding Pledge to International Vaccine Agency

Mass murderer.

(gift link)

Attending the GRC in Molecular mechanisms of evolution seems like such a privilege. Thanks to the chairs Dan Jarosz, Shelley Cooley & the vice-chairs Mia Levine and Joe Thornton. Opening session off to a great start with an introduction by @judithberman11.bsky.social that made me proud and cry. 1/

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Jay's "support" for early career researchers is breathtaking. It's worth taking a quick look at the list of NIH training grants/fellowships that have been terminated. Thanks to @noamross.net, @scott-delaney.bsky.social, and others for compiling these lists.

My HPC team at UC Davis is hiring! Looking for an experienced sysadmin to help build and maintain clusters (hardware and software). HPC experience great, but if you’re an experienced sysadmin and willing to learn, please apply!

careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psc/ucdavis/...

Great stuff! Above all, the paper firmly nails 'domestication' as a phenomenon of populations, not (sub)species. Loud cheers.

You know what the world absolutely does not need? Yet another definition for domestication. Get over yourselves people. C'mon!

Ok, maybe just one more. So much fun working with @elinork.bsky.social, Kathryn and Robin. www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

A universally applicable definition for domestication | PNAS The process of domestication is commonly perceived as a human achievement, and domestic species are typically assumed to be those under human contr...

Many years ago I ventured down a “what is domestication” rabbit hole w Kathryn Lord @gregerlarson.bsky.social & Robin Allaby. This is where we ended up! @pnas.org www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Let’s get the word out about the importance of federal funding of curiosity -driven science
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Time to catch up on the past week’s news about science and medicine in the US. Whew. 1/10

Sometimes being uprooted lets you grow something bigger. 🌱

On April 1st, the three of us were laid off from our dream jobs as science communicators for the federal government.

But science communication is still alive and thriving. It’s just growing underground.

Follow us for more updates to come!

@atjcagan.bsky.social it's a true pleasure to have Alex Cagan opening up the session on mutations across the tree of life. #MITS25

My first Mutations In Time and Space meeting … this is a fantastic conference! #MITS25

Elinor Karlsson, PhD

Cat, from Shutterstock

Elinor Karlsson, PhD, of @umasschan.bsky.social and @broadinstitute.org teams up with Hill’s Pet Nutrition to establish a comprehensive database of cat genomics: direc.to/nd8t

The Darwin’s Cats database will accelerate research and scientific breakthroughs. #cats #CatGenetics @elinork.bsky.social

Investigating Cat Behavior Through Genetics With the help of cat owners, a new project investigates cats’ biology and aims to link some of their behaviors to their genes.

Scientists are asking cat owners nationwide to submit a tuft of fur and share details about their cat’s appearance, personality, and behavior. Dr. @elinork.bsky.social joins us to discuss the project and what we do and don’t know about #cat genetics.

Geographical representation of the three clusters inferred in the study by Smitz et al. (2014). Blue corresponds to the Northern cluster (N), green to the Central cluster (C) and red to the Southern cluster (S). The sampling localities are: 1. Kruger, 2. Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, 3. Niassa, 4. Limpopo, 5. Manguana, 6. Gorongosa, 7. Marromeu, 8. Nyakasanga, 9. Malilangwe, 10. Crooks Corner, 11. Mana Pools, 12. Gonarezhou, 13. Hwange, 14. Sengwe, 15. Victoria Falls, 16. Chobe, 17. Okavango Delta.

The Cape Buffalo has undergone major genetic shifts due to recent and ancient events. DNA analysis revealed 3 distinct population clusters, likely shaped by Holocene climate change and more recent human impacts like habitat fragmentation and disease. #2025MMM #RIP link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Figure shows a phylogenetic tree resulting from the analysis of the full mitochondrial genome of 127 ruminants (including Syncerus caffer and other Bovini) using 16 fossil calibration points (indicated by yellow circles).

The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) split from its Asian relatives (Bubalus spp.) ~7 million years ago. Fossils and DNA agree ➡️ Bovini arrived in Africa during the late Miocene, giving rise to a new branch of buffalos. #2025MMM link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Relationship between five time periods positively correlated with loss of sea ice (labelled 1-5 on x-axis; 1: 1995–1999; 2: 2000–2004; 3: 2005–2009; 4: 2010–2014; 5: 2015–2016) and mean observed heterozygosity (HO; top row), unbiased expected heterozygosity (HE; second row from the top), allelic richness (AR; second row from the bottom), and coefficient of relatedness (rw; bottom row). (A) Sampling area by time, (B) time period as a factor, and (C) time as a continuous variable. Colors in (A) and (C) correspond to the four sampling areas across the Svalbard Archipelago in Norway (NES: northeastern Svalbard; NWS: northwestern Svalbard; SES: southeastern Svalbard; SWS: southwestern Svalbard).

Polar bears in the Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) have experienced rapid sea ice loss over the past few decades. Microsatellites from 622 polar bears living in this region in 1995-2016 (2 generations) show ⬇️ in genetic diversity + ⬆️ in relatedness over time. #2025MMM doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.1741

2015 MME sites showing dates of onset and the location of the two sites studied in detail in the field. Inset shows the location of the three saiga populations within Kazakhstan (x and y units are longitude and latitude, respectively).

Efforts to protect Saiga have been mixed-- they are susceptible to the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, which tragically killed more than 200,000 individuals in 2015 alone. Very high temp & humidity that year may have contributed to the die off. #2025MMM #RIP www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Median-joining network of the mtDNA CR haplotypes (920 bp) of the Northwest Pre-Caspian saiga population. The black circles indicate the samples of 1999–2000 (“Old”); the samples of 2010, 2011, 2016 are given in white (“New”). The red circles indicate the median vectors. The number of mutation positions is indicated above the branches, and the circles’ diameter is proportional to the samples’ number.

European populations of Saiga have low variability of microsatellite loci, but highly variable mitochondrial control region and nuclear DNA-- why? Likely due to the overhunting of adult male Saiga in the early 1990s, which caused the loss of paternal lines #2025MMM research.ebsco.com/linkprocesso...

Discriminant analyses of jaguar (left) and puma (right) samples across Belize. Different colors represent different populations. Jaguar samples show more overlap (less genetic structure) than pumas.

How does puma diversity compare to other wild felids? A study on pumas, jaguars, and ocelots in Belize showed jaguars had the lowest genetic diversity, followed by pumas, then ocelots. Puma pops showed the most structure of the 3 cats across the fragmented landscape. #2025MMM doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Representative haploid karyotypes of some Squalomorphii (a = Chlamydoselachus anguineus, b = Notorynchus cepedianus, c = Oxynotus centrina, d = Squalus acanthias).

C. anguineus has an unusually high chromosome count (100 chromosomes) compared to many other sharks​. Such a high diploid number may hint at chromosomal reorganizations or ancient polyploidy events in its lineage. #2025MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1023/A:10...

Phylogenomic relationships of Chlamydoselachus anguineus (in bold) inferred from whole mitochondrial genomes using closely related species of the Superorder Squalomorphi. Taxonomic subdivisions are indicated for each major clade. Bootstrap values obtained by 1000 steps are indicated for each node. Scale bar represents the expected substitution per site.

Frilled sharks (C. anguineus) show extremely low intraspecific genetic variation: distant populations have >99.9% identical mtDNA. This low diversity suggests a historically widespread population or very slow drift—likely aided by deep-sea stability. #2025MMM doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2015.1137801

Phylogeny of extant vertebrates and duplication history of SCPP genes. The earliest fossil vertebrate possessing a dermal mineralized tissue is dated 470 Ma (Janvier, 1996). The loss of bone in chondrichthyans is shown by “- bone.” Putative arrangements of ancient SCPP genes, before and after vertebrate genome duplication (VGD) VGD1/VGD2 and a tandem duplication, are bracketed. Although this figure shows only two of the four presumed duplicates generated by VGD1/VGD2, both sparcr2 and spock2 are located on Loc5 in the gar genome. In humans, gar, and zebrafish, the chromosomes carrying these genes are known and are shown at the side. In other species, these genes are located in small contigs, and their linkage on a specific chromosome was not determined. Unknown linkages between two genes are shown with question marks.

Gar, an actinopterygian, has mineralized tissues involving SCPP genes, which were previously unidentified in chondrichthyans. In gar, 38 SCPP genes were found - a genetic system for tissue mineralization in early osteichthyans, w/ rapid expansion in actinopterygians. #2025MMM doi.org/10.1002/jez....

Comparative chromosome mapping between the mountain zebra (Hartmann’s mountain zebra subspecies; Equus zebra hartmannae [EZH]) and domestic horse (E. caballus [ECA]). Mountain zebra chromosomes are shown on the left in each homologous pair while horse chromosomes are shown on the right.

Mountain zebras lost this round…and have also lost the most chromosomes out of all equids! Mountain zebras have only 16 pairs, their zebra relatives have 22 and 23 pairs, and the Przewalski’s horse has the most in the equid genus w/33 pairs. #2025MMM #RIP doi.org/10.1007/s10577-013-9346-z

Change in variation at microsatellites over 1.5 generations in three Cape mountain zebra populations (KNR = Kammanassie National Reserve; MZNP = Mountain Zebra National Park; and DHNR = DeHoop Nature Reserve). White bars correspond to private alleles per population, grey bars correspond to alleles with frequency <=5%, and black bars correspond to alleles with frequency >5%.

The Cape mountain zebra—one of two mountain 🦓 subspecies—nearly went extinct in the 1950s with <50 individuals in the wild. The subspecies has recovered today to >4000 animals but microsatellites suggest they might not have recovered genetically…yet. #2025MMM doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220331