Genetic Diversity and Population Dynamics of Invasive Rodents
Summary
Invasive rodents such as the black rat, brown rat and Asian house rat have successfully colonised diverse environments worldwide, driven by their close association with human activities. Genetic diversity shapes their adaptability, disease transmission potential and response to control measures. Population dynamics studies integrate mitochondrial and nuclear markers to reconstruct introduction pathways, detect historical bottlenecks and infer patterns of expansion linked to trade, migration and environmental change. Fine‐scale spatial analyses reveal that gene flow is often restricted by urban landscape features, informing targeted eradication and biosecurity strategies. These advances carry global significance for biodiversity conservation, public health and the management of invasive species.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have generated de novo genome assemblies and sequenced both ancient and modern mitogenomes and nuclear genomes of black rat populations from Europe and North Africa spanning the first to seventeenth centuries CE. These genomic analyses confirm multiple introductions from Southwest Asia and reveal a pronounced population turnover in temperate Europe between the sixth and tenth centuries, coinciding with climatic cooling and societal upheavals. Such palaeogenomic approaches demonstrate the tight coupling between human economic history and rodent demography, offering a template for linking ancient DNA data to modern invasion biology.
Genetic Diversity and Population Dynamics of Invasive Rodents publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in genetic diversity and population dynamics of invasive rodents across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Genetic diversity: Variation in DNA sequences within and between populations, underpinning adaptive potential.
Population dynamics: Patterns and processes of change in population size, structure and distribution over time.
Mitogenome: The complete mitochondrial genome, inherited maternally and used for tracing lineage history.
Phylogeography: Study of historical processes that shape the geographical distribution of genetic lineages.
Microsatellite loci: Short, repetitive DNA sequences scattered through the genome, highly polymorphic and used as genetic markers.
Haplotype: A group of DNA variants inherited together, forming a lineage block for evolutionary inference.
Effective population size (Ne): The number of breeding individuals contributing genes to the next generation, reflecting genetic drift effects.
References
- Palaeogenomic analysis of black rat (Rattus rattus) reveals multiple European introductions associated with human economic history. Nature Communications (2022).
- Commensal Rats and Humans: Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies. BioEssays (2020).
- Dispersal route of the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) on mainland China: insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA. BMC Genomic Data (2019).
- Using fine‐scale spatial genetics of Norway rats to improve control efforts and reduce leptospirosis risk in urban slum environments. Evolutionary Applications (2017).
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