POSTER ABSTRACTS
#49 Discovery of Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC) candidate risk genes in fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) managed within North American zoos Rachel Carroll1 , Leslie A. Lyons2, William Swanson3, Tyler Boyd4, Anna Chaney5, Megan Foley6, Karen Terio7, Wesley C. Warren8 rac266@umsystem.edu 1Department of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; 2Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA; 3Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW), Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, OH, USA; 4Fishing Cat Species Survival Plan Program Leader, Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, Oklahoma City, OK, USA; 5Cat Country and Zambezi River Hippo Camp, Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN, USA; 6Cat Country, Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN, USA; 7Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois, Brookfield, IL, USA; 8Department of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA Assessing the genetic fitness of zoo-housed species through genomic methods remains contro- versial as to the best practices. Here, we examine the fishing cat, an elusive feline species native to Southeast Asia listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. After constructing a population pedigree, we hypothesize this smaller population, with a history of inbreeding, could be susceptible to the facilitation of deleterious alleles. To aid Species Survival Plan coordinators with zoo-based manage- ment, we plan to address questions concerning genome-wide heterozygosity, runs of homozygosity, and prevalence of high-risk alleles. One issue of concern in this fishing cat group is the occurrence of transitional cell carcinoma. TCC is an invasive form of bladder cancer with an unknown etiology that is becoming more prevalent in older, zoo-managed individuals. TCC does not appear to have any sex predilection and seems to skip over generations, suggesting a potential genetic etiology rooted in recessive inheritance. Identifying a genetic etiology for TCC is crucial for SSP managers to improve population management. To do this, we have generated UM_Priviv_1.0, a highly-quality chromosome level assembly with an N50 contig length of 68.7 Mb. We have also used GATK best practices with this reference to identify a total of 3,493,074 SNPs and 1,225,281 indels within a cohort of 11 fishing cats. For comparative analysis, GATK best practices will be repeated across four additional feline species: lion, tiger, domestic cat, and Asian leopard. All variant findings will be invaluable in addressing questions surrounding genome-wide diversity across these feline species, help identify segregating deleterious alleles, and possibly reveal candidate TCC risk alleles in our zoo-managed fishing cat population.
93
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker