One of the most iconic wild equids, the plains zebra occupies a broad region of sub‐Saharan Africa and exhibits a wide range of phenotypic diversity in stripe patterns that have been used to classify multiple subspecies. After decades of relative stability, albeit with a loss of at least one recognized subspecies, the total population of plains zebras has undergone an approximate 25% decline since 2002. Individuals with abnormal stripe patterns have been recognized in recent years but the extent to which their appearance is related to demography and/or genetics is unclear. Investigating population genetic health and genetic structure are essential for developing effective strategies for plains zebra conservation. We collected DNA from 140 plains zebra, including seven with abnormal stripe patterns, from nine locations across the range of plains zebra, and analyzed data from restriction site‐associated and whole genome sequencing (RAD‐seq, WGS) libraries to better understand the relationships between population structure, genetic diversity, inbreeding, and abnormal phenotypes. We found that genetic structure did not coincide with described subspecific variation, but did distinguish geographic regions in which anthropogenic habitat fragmentation is associated with reduced gene flow and increased evidence of inbreeding, especially in certain parts of East Africa. Further, zebras with abnormal striping exhibited increased levels of inbreeding relative to normally striped individuals from the same populations. Our results point to a genetic cause of stripe pattern abnormalities, and dramatic evidence of the consequences of habitat fragmentation.

中文翻译：

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平原斑马的种群结构，近交和条纹图案异常

斑马是最具标志性的野生动物之一，分布在撒哈拉以南非洲大片地区，并且在条纹图案中表现出广泛的表型多样性，这些条纹已用于对多个亚种进行分类。经过几十年的相对稳定，尽管损失了至少一个公认的亚种，但自2002年以来，斑马平原的总种群下降了约25％。近年来，条纹斑纹异常的个体得到了认可，但是斑纹的程度外观与人口统计学有关和/或遗传学尚不清楚。调查种群的遗传健康和遗传结构对于制定有效的平原斑马保护策略至关重要。我们从140个平原斑马中收集了DNA，其中包括七个具有异常条纹图案的斑马，来自平原斑马范围内的9个位置，并分析了限制性位点相关和全基因组测序（RAD-seq，WGS）库中的数据，以更好地了解种群结构，遗传多样性，近亲繁殖和异常表型之间的关系。我们发现遗传结构与所描述的亚种变异并不一致，但确实区分了人为的栖息地片段化与基因流量减少和近亲繁殖的证据增加有关的地理区域，特别是在东非的某些地区。此外，与来自相同种群的正常条纹个体相比，具有异常条纹的斑马显示出近交水平的提高。我们的结果指出了条纹图案异常的遗传原因，以及栖息地破碎化后果的戏剧性证据。