A reference genome enhances the power to detect signatures of recent anthropogenic impact in genomic data: a lesson learned from a stag beetle system.

Background: Genomic data are vital for conservation biology and recent advances in sequencing technology have facilitated their applicability. However, the role of reference genomes in conservation planning remains largely underexplored. Specifically, while reference genomes can improve the accuracy of estimating genetic indices and help detect genomic regions under selection, they are still limited for non-model species. We explored whether a reference genome can help reveal novel insights not detected by previous genome-wide SNP analyses in a stag beetle system, especially in understanding recent demographic changes and local adaptation, which are critical information for conservation planning.

Results: We used Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) to sequence and assemble a draft genome of an endemic stag beetle Lucanus miwai in Taiwan. With this newly generated genome map, we reanalyzed a previously published ddRADseq dataset. Our results revealed that the three geographical lineages of L. miwai exhibit varying levels of runs of homozygosity (ROH), with the lineage experiencing the most severe and recent habitat disturbance showing the longest ROH. Furthermore, the inferred timing and duration of a recent bottleneck coincide with historical records of recent habitat destruction. We also identified putative genomic regions showing signals of divergent selection between the lineages, indicating the importance of maintaining geographical lineages as separate conservation units.

Conclusions: The impact of anthropogenic disturbance among different geographical lineages of L. miwai can be detected using genomic data only when a reference genome is available. Furthermore, a reference genome helps us identify a genomic region that may have experienced a recent selective sweep. Our findings thus provide empirical evidence supporting the crucial roles of reference genomes in conservation planning.