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Appendix ES-9 Adaptive Genetics of Hawaiian Tree Snails & Climate Change
OANRP Final Quarter Report, 2015
Dr. Michael Hadfield & Dr. Melissa Price
Adaptive Genetics of Hawaiian Tree Snails & Climate Change
Accomplishments
DNA samples from Fifteen Achatinella mustelina populations and one Partulina redfieldi
population (for use as an outgroup in phylogenetic analyses) were prepared using the ezRAD method
and sequenced on the Illumina Miseq platform. Several bioinformatic processes have been
accomplished so far. First, we have obtained about 80% of the mitochondrial genome for all 16
populations. After performing a de novo assembly and blasting the resulting contigs against the SwisProt
database, we identified over 1000 protein-coding regions from across the genome. Finally, we used a
program called Seanome to identify thousands of SNPs across the genomes of eight populations from
ESUs A – C. GIS modeling of the projected range shifts for Achatinella mustelina has been refined. It still
predicts a much-reduced range by the year 2080, with the species largely restricted to the area
surrounding and including Mt. Ka’ala.
Forecast
Continued work with SNP identification and Fst-outlier analysis will be used to identify SNPs
correlated with environmental variables. These data will be combined with the species’ current range
data, as well as forecast data, to predict where populations will be likely to tolerate warmer, drier
conditions, and which populations should be combined to maximize adaptive ability. GIS modeling will
also be scaled down to the level of ESUs.