Project name: Oryctolagus cuniculus

Description: In the 1950s the myxoma virus was released into European rabbit populations in Australia, France and the UK, killing up to 99% of infected animals and decimating populations. This resulted in a remarkable natural experiment, where rabbits in all three populations rapidly evolved resistance to the virus. We investigated the genetic basis of resistance by comparing the exome sequences of rabbits in museums collected before the pandemic and modern samples. Comparing the three populations there was a strong signature of parallel genetic changes occurring across the rabbit exome. We found six genes where the same genetic variants had changed in frequency over the last 60 years, all of which linked with the poxvirus replication or immunity. These results suggest that the evolution of resistance to myxoma virus involved parallel genetic changes in the two continents.

Data type: raw sequence reads

Sample scope: Monoisolate

Relevance: Evolution

Last updated: 2017-07-11