About This Project

In 2014, researchers announced that Humpback whales (M. novaeangliae) are actually subspeciating and have been doing so for several hundreds of thousands of years. But is that the case? And if they are subspeciating, why is that happening? This research aims to obtain long reads for currently stored DNA samples from at least 4 different clades and, using the recently obtained full reference genome, develop a more complete phylogenetic tree of M. novaeangliae.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Humpback whales were hunted to near extinction until whaling was banned in 1963. Population recovery is slow due to long generation times and human interference. Interestingly, it seems that the near decimation of humpbacks did not lead to a bottleneck effect on their genetic variety. We previously developed the first full reference genome of M. novaeangliae, in haplotype genome format, meeting CGP standards. This project is the next phase of this research.

In 2014, Jackson et al. announced that M. novaeangliae was subspeciating and identified three subspecies. However, no additional work was done to further confirm this hypothesis. This work is meant to further understand if the equator is, in fact, a reproductive barrier.

What is the significance of this project?

Long-read sequencing and a novel reference genome would significantly advance the analysis of Humpback whale subspeciation. The extensive genetic drift and mutational divergence observed between Humpback populations, especially between ocean basins, indicate significant barriers to gene flow. Long reads can span repetitive regions and resolve complex structures, providing a more accurate understanding of the genetic differences driving subspeciation. This matters because understanding speciation is crucial for understanding diversification, which is key to guiding conservation efforts. M. novaeangliae's unique subspeciation across extensive migrations is unique but explores scale in the way few other organisms can.

What are the goals of the project?

The goal of this project is to sequence DNA samples from M. novaeangliae collected from distant populations, ideally representing different clades such as Northern Atlantic, Northern Pacific, South Pacific, South Atlantic, and Oceania. By using long-read sequencing technologies, such as the PacBio Revio HiFi Platform, we aim to generate long reads that can span repetitive regions and resolve complex genomic structures. By generating long reads from geographically distant Humpback whale populations, we can obtain a comprehensive view of their genomic diversity and evolutionary history. This information will be invaluable for testing the hypothesis of subspeciation and understanding the factors driving diversification in these magnificent creatures.