Publications by authors named "Malthe Rasmussen"

Impalas are unusual among bovids because they have remained morphologically similar over millions of years-a phenomenon referred to as evolutionary stasis. Here, we sequenced 119 whole genomes from the two extant subspecies of impala, the common (Aepyceros melampus melampus) and black-faced (A. m.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

African antelope diversity is a globally unique vestige of a much richer world-wide Pleistocene megafauna. Despite this, the evolutionary processes leading to the prolific radiation of African antelopes are not well understood. Here, we sequenced 145 whole genomes from both subspecies of the waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), an African antelope believed to be in the process of speciation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) is a keystone species in savanna ecosystems from southern to eastern Africa, and is well known for its spectacular migrations and locally extreme abundance. In contrast, the black wildebeest (C. gnou) is endemic to southern Africa, barely escaped extinction in the 1900s and is feared to be in danger of genetic swamping from the blue wildebeest.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Strong genetic structure has prompted discussion regarding giraffe taxonomy, including a suggestion to split the giraffe into four species: Northern (Giraffa c. camelopardalis), Reticulated (G. c.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and red river hogs (P. porcus) were once thought to be the same species due to their morphological differences and lack of interbreeding, but genetic analysis reveals a more complex relationship with evidence of historical gene flow.
  • * The study suggests that instead of being distinct species, bushpigs and red river hogs may represent incompletely speciation, and that Malagasy bushpigs diverged from their southern African relatives during a population bottleneck that coincided with human arrival in Madagascar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Genomic studies on endangered species help us understand how they evolve and survive despite population declines and bottlenecks, offering clues on avoiding extinction.
  • - The researchers focused on the muskox, which nearly went extinct after the last Ice Age but is now thriving, examining 108 whole genomes from current populations and an ancient specimen.
  • - They found that past climate changes influenced muskox demographics, with the white-faced subspecies showing extremely low genetic variation without signs of inbreeding depression, suggesting that gradual population declines might have removed harmful mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

People suffering from pain constitute a sizeable and heterogeneous patient group. Conventional oral analgesics are considered a cheap and safe first-line treatment. These drugs are used on both a regular and 'as needed' basis and are often obtained over-the-counter (OTC).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The iconic Cape buffalo has experienced several documented population declines in recent history. These declines have been largely attributed to the late 19th century rinderpest pandemic. However, the effect of the rinderpest pandemic on their genetic diversity remains contentious, and other factors that have potentially affected this diversity include environmental changes during the Pleistocene, range expansions and recent human activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) typically results from transmission of a small and genetically uniform viral population. Following transmission, the virus population becomes more diverse because of recombination and acquired mutations through genetic drift and selection. Viral intrahost genetic diversity remains a major obstacle to the cure of HIV; however, the association between intrahost diversity and disease progression markers has not been investigated in large and diverse cohorts for which the majority of the genome has been deep-sequenced.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The site frequency spectrum is an important summary statistic in population genetics used for inference on demographic history and selection. However, estimation of the site frequency spectrum from called genotypes introduces bias when working with low-coverage sequencing data. Methods exist for addressing this issue but sometimes suffer from 2 problems.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

African wild pigs have a contentious evolutionary and biogeographic history. Until recently, desert warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus) and common warthog (P. africanus) were considered a single species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Copy-number variations (CNVs) have important clinical implications for several diseases and cancers. Relevant CNVs are hard to detect because common structural variations define large parts of the human genome. CNV calling from short-read sequencing would allow single protocol full genomic profiling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Large carnivores are generally sensitive to ecosystem changes because their specialized diet and position at the top of the trophic pyramid is associated with small population sizes. Accordingly, low genetic diversity at the whole-genome level has been reported for all big cat species, including the widely distributed leopard. However, all previous whole-genome analyses of leopards are based on the Far Eastern Amur leopards that live at the extremity of the species' distribution and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF