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Abstract Phylogenomic analyses of closely related species allow important glimpses into their evolutionary history. Although recent studies have demonstrated that inter-species hybridization has occurred in several groups, incorporating this process in phylogenetic reconstruction remains challenging. Specifically, the most predominant topology across the genome is often assumed to reflect the speciation tree, but rampant hybridization might overwhelm the genomes, causing that assumption to be violated. The notoriously challenging phylogeny of the 5 extant Panthera species (specifically jaguar [P. onca], lion [P. leo], and leopard [P. pardus]) is an interesting system to address this problem. Here we employed a Panthera-wide whole-genome-sequence data set incorporating 3 jaguar genomes and 2 representatives of lions and leopards to dissect the relationships among these 3 species. Maximum-likelihood trees reconstructed from non-overlapping genomic fragments of 4 different sizes strongly supported the monophyly of all 3 species. The most frequent topology (76–95%) united lion + leopard as a sister species (topology 1), followed by lion + jaguar (topology 2: 4–8%) and leopard + jaguar (topology 3: 0–6%). Topology 1 was dominant across the genome, especially in high-recombination regions. Topologies 2 and 3 were enriched in low-recombination segments, likely reflecting the species tree in the face of hybridization. Divergence times between sister species of each topology, corrected for local-recombination-rate effects, indicated that the lion-leopard divergence was significantly younger than the alternatives, likely driven by post-speciation admixture. Introgression analyses detected pervasive hybridization between lions and leopards, regardless of the assumed species tree. This inference was strongly supported by multispecies-coalescence-with-introgression analyses, which rejected topology 1 (lion+leopard) or any model without introgression. Interestingly, topologies 2 (lion+jaguar) and 3 (jaguar+leopard) with extensive lion-leopard introgression were unidentifiable, highlighting the complexity of this phylogenetic problem. Our results suggest that the dominant genome-wide tree topology is not the true species tree but rather a consequence of overwhelming post-speciation admixture between lion and leopard. 

Abstract Even in the genomics era, the phylogeny of Neotropical small felids comprised in the genus Leopardus remains contentious. We used whole-genome resequencing data to construct a time-calibrated consensus phylogeny of this group, quantify phylogenomic discordance, test for interspecies introgression, and assess patterns of genetic diversity and demographic history. We infer that the Leopardus radiation started in the Early Pliocene as an initial speciation burst, followed by another in its subgenus Oncifelis during the Early Pleistocene. Our findings challenge the long-held notion that ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and margay (L. wiedii) are sister species and instead indicate that margay is most closely related to the enigmatic Andean cat (L. jacobita), whose whole-genome data are reported here for the first time. In addition, we found that the newly sampled Andean tiger cat (L. tigrinus pardinoides) population from Colombia associates closely with Central American tiger cats (L. tigrinus oncilla). Genealogical discordance was largely attributable to incomplete lineage sorting, yet was augmented by strong gene flow between ocelot and the ancestral branch of Oncifelis, as well as between Geoffroy's cat (L. geoffroyi) and southern tiger cat (L. guttulus). Contrasting demographic trajectories have led to disparate levels of current genomic diversity, with a nearly tenfold difference in heterozygosity between Andean cat and ocelot, spanning the entire range of variability found in extant felids. Our analyses improved our understanding of the speciation history and diversity patterns in this felid radiation, and highlight the benefits to phylogenomic inference of embracing the many heterogeneous signals scattered across the genome. 

Habitat degradation and loss of genetic diversity are common threats faced by almost all of today’s wild cats. Big cats, such as tigers and lions, are of great concern and have received considerable conservation attention through policies and international actions. However, knowledge of and conservation actions for small wild cats are lagging considerably behind. The black-footed cat,Felis nigripes, one of the smallest felid species, is experiencing increasing threats with a rapid reduction in population size. However, there is a lack of genetic information to assist in developing effective conservation actions. A de novo assembly of a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of the black-footed cat was made, and comparative genomics and population genomics analyses were carried out. These analyses revealed that the most significant genetic changes in the evolution of the black-footed cat are the rapid evolution of sensory and metabolic-related genes, reflecting genetic adaptations to its characteristic nocturnal hunting and a high metabolic rate. Genomes of the black-footed cat exhibit a high level of inbreeding, especially for signals of recent inbreeding events, which suggest that they may have experienced severe genetic isolation caused by habitat fragmentation. More importantly, inbreeding associated with two deleterious mutated genes may exacerbate the risk of amyloidosis, the dominant disease that causes mortality of about 70% of captive individuals. Our research provides comprehensive documentation of the evolutionary history of the black-footed cat and suggests that there is an urgent need to investigate genomic variations of small felids worldwide to support effective conservation actions. 

Clouded leopards (Neofelisspp.), a morphologically and ecologically distinct lineage of big cats, are severely threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, targeted hunting, and other human activities. The long-held poor understanding of their genetics and evolution has undermined the effectiveness of conservation actions. Here, we report a comprehensive investigation of the whole genomes, population genetics, and adaptive evolution ofNeofelis. Our results indicate the genusNeofelisarose during the Pleistocene, coinciding with glacial-induced climate changes to the distributions of savannas and rainforests, and signatures of natural selection associated with genes functioning in tooth, pigmentation, and tail development, associated with clouded leopards’ unique adaptations. Our study highlights high-altitude adaptation as the main factor driving nontaxonomic population differentiation inNeofelis nebulosa. Population declines and inbreeding have led to reduced genetic diversity and the accumulation of deleterious variation that likely affect reproduction of clouded leopards, highlighting the urgent need for effective conservation efforts. 

INTRODUCTION Resolving the role that different environmental forces may have played in the apparent explosive diversification of modern placental mammals is crucial to understanding the evolutionary context of their living and extinct morphological and genomic diversity. RATIONALE Limited access to whole-genome sequence alignments that sample living mammalian biodiversity has hampered phylogenomic inference, which until now has been limited to relatively small, highly constrained sequence matrices often representing <2% of a typical mammalian genome. To eliminate this sampling bias, we used an alignment of 241 whole genomes to comprehensively identify and rigorously analyze noncoding, neutrally evolving sequence variation in coalescent and concatenation-based phylogenetic frameworks. These analyses were followed by validation with multiple classes of phylogenetically informative structural variation. This approach enabled the generation of a robust time tree for placental mammals that evaluated age variation across hundreds of genomic loci that are not restricted by protein coding annotations. RESULTS Coalescent and concatenation phylogenies inferred from multiple treatments of the data were highly congruent, including support for higher-level taxonomic groupings that unite primates+colugos with treeshrews (Euarchonta), bats+cetartiodactyls+perissodactyls+carnivorans+pangolins (Scrotifera), all scrotiferans excluding bats (Fereuungulata), and carnivorans+pangolins with perissodactyls (Zooamata). However, because these approaches infer a single best tree, they mask signatures of phylogenetic conflict that result from incomplete lineage sorting and historical hybridization. Accordingly, we also inferred phylogenies from thousands of noncoding loci distributed across chromosomes with historically contrasting recombination rates. Throughout the radiation of modern orders (such as rodents, primates, bats, and carnivores), we observed notable differences between locus trees inferred from the autosomes and the X chromosome, a pattern typical of speciation with gene flow. We show that in many cases, previously controversial phylogenetic relationships can be reconciled by examining the distribution of conflicting phylogenetic signals along chromosomes with variable historical recombination rates. Lineage divergence time estimates were notably uniform across genomic loci and robust to extensive sensitivity analyses in which the underlying data, fossil constraints, and clock models were varied. The earliest branching events in the placental phylogeny coincide with the breakup of continental landmasses and rising sea levels in the Late Cretaceous. This signature of allopatric speciation is congruent with the low genomic conflict inferred for most superordinal relationships. By contrast, we observed a second pulse of diversification immediately after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event superimposed on an episode of rapid land emergence. Greater geographic continuity coupled with tumultuous climatic changes and increased ecological landscape at this time provided enhanced opportunities for mammalian diversification, as depicted in the fossil record. These observations dovetail with increased phylogenetic conflict observed within clades that diversified in the Cenozoic. CONCLUSION Our genome-wide analysis of multiple classes of sequence variation provides the most comprehensive assessment of placental mammal phylogeny, resolves controversial relationships, and clarifies the timing of mammalian diversification. We propose that the combination of Cretaceous continental fragmentation and lineage isolation, followed by the direct and indirect effects of the K-Pg extinction at a time of rapid land emergence, synergistically contributed to the accelerated diversification rate of placental mammals during the early Cenozoic. The timing of placental mammal evolution. Superordinal mammalian diversification took place in the Cretaceous during periods of continental fragmentation and sea level rise with little phylogenomic discordance (pie charts: left, autosomes; right, X chromosome), which is consistent with allopatric speciation. By contrast, the Paleogene hosted intraordinal diversification in the aftermath of the K-Pg mass extinction event, when clades exhibited higher phylogenomic discordance consistent with speciation with gene flow and incomplete lineage sorting. 

INTRODUCTION A major challenge in genomics is discerning which bases among billions alter organismal phenotypes and affect health and disease risk. Evidence of past selective pressure on a base, whether highly conserved or fast evolving, is a marker of functional importance. Bases that are unchanged in all mammals may shape phenotypes that are essential for organismal health. Bases that are evolving quickly in some species, or changed only in species that share an adaptive trait, may shape phenotypes that support survival in specific niches. Identifying bases associated with exceptional capacity for cellular recovery, such as in species that hibernate, could inform therapeutic discovery. RATIONALE The power and resolution of evolutionary analyses scale with the number and diversity of species compared. By analyzing genomes for hundreds of placental mammals, we can detect which individual bases in the genome are exceptionally conserved (constrained) and likely to be functionally important in both coding and noncoding regions. By including species that represent all orders of placental mammals and aligning genomes using a method that does not require designating humans as the reference species, we explore unusual traits in other species. RESULTS Zoonomia’s mammalian comparative genomics resources are the most comprehensive and statistically well-powered produced to date, with a protein-coding alignment of 427 mammals and a whole-genome alignment of 240 placental mammals representing all orders. We estimate that at least 10.7% of the human genome is evolutionarily conserved relative to neutrally evolving repeats and identify about 101 million significantly constrained single bases (false discovery rate < 0.05). We cataloged 4552 ultraconserved elements at least 20 bases long that are identical in more than 98% of the 240 placental mammals. Many constrained bases have no known function, illustrating the potential for discovery using evolutionary measures. Eighty percent are outside protein-coding exons, and half have no functional annotations in the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) resource. Constrained bases tend to vary less within human populations, which is consistent with purifying selection. Species threatened with extinction have few substitutions at constrained sites, possibly because severely deleterious alleles have been purged from their small populations. By pairing Zoonomia’s genomic resources with phenotype annotations, we find genomic elements associated with phenotypes that differ between species, including olfaction, hibernation, brain size, and vocal learning. We associate genomic traits, such as the number of olfactory receptor genes, with physical phenotypes, such as the number of olfactory turbinals. By comparing hibernators and nonhibernators, we implicate genes involved in mitochondrial disorders, protection against heat stress, and longevity in this physiologically intriguing phenotype. Using a machine learning–based approach that predicts tissue-specific cis - regulatory activity in hundreds of species using data from just a few, we associate changes in noncoding sequence with traits for which humans are exceptional: brain size and vocal learning. CONCLUSION Large-scale comparative genomics opens new opportunities to explore how genomes evolved as mammals adapted to a wide range of ecological niches and to discover what is shared across species and what is distinctively human. High-quality data for consistently defined phenotypes are necessary to realize this potential. Through partnerships with researchers in other fields, comparative genomics can address questions in human health and basic biology while guiding efforts to protect the biodiversity that is essential to these discoveries. Comparing genomes from 240 species to explore the evolution of placental mammals. Our new phylogeny (black lines) has alternating gray and white shading, which distinguishes mammalian orders (labeled around the perimeter). Rings around the phylogeny annotate species phenotypes. Seven species with diverse traits are illustrated, with black lines marking their branch in the phylogeny. Sequence conservation across species is described at the top left. IMAGE CREDIT: K. MORRILL 

Abstract Tree House Explorer (THEx) is a genome browser that integrates phylogenomic data and genomic annotations into a single interactive platform for combined analysis. THEx allows users to visualize genome-wide variation in evolutionary histories and genetic divergence on a chromosome-by-chromosome basis, with continuous sliding window comparisons to gene annotations, recombination rates, and other user-specified, highly customizable feature annotations. THEx provides a new platform for interactive phylogenomic data visualization to analyze and interpret the diverse evolutionary histories woven throughout genomes. Hosted on Conda, THEx integrates seamlessly into new or pre-existing workflows.