Two new studies use whole genome sequencing to explore how the animals have fared in warmer conditions, raising questions about climate and adaptation.
Parsing the genes of individual polar bears, especially on the whole genome scale, is a relatively recent accomplishment. Previously, scientists used microsatellite data: a comparatively cheap and easy method that is akin to spot-checking the genome. Imagine the genome as a biological map, in which everything is made up of a combination of four letters, or nucleic acid base pairs. Scientists find areas of interest on the genome—sort of like searching for biological “landmarks.
But whole genome sequencing does much more than spot-check. Instead, it looks at everything. Because it provides such a high-resolution view of which base pairs go where, researchers can see exactly where tiny genetic differences between species lie. “The whole genome data we’ve provided is way more powerful,” says Shapiro.
The polar bears weren’t super enthusiastic about letting go of their DNA. After the researchers had collected and preserved the DNA in tubes, “the bears came and got their samples back,” Shapiro says. Laidre had to go outside, banging pots and pans together, to retrieve the bag of samples. “That’s the only time they tried to steal my samples,” Laidre says.the Southeast Greenland bears revealed two curious things.
To compensate for the shorter season, the bears have adapted by making use of another ice source: glacier ice that breaks off the Greenland ice sheet in slow motion to form a landscape of freshwater ice. Laidre and her colleagues noticed that during the period with no sea ice, the bears could still use this glaciated landscape to hunt for seals—employing the same ambushing techniques.
Her team constructed a phylogenetic tree—sort of like an evolutionary map showing how the bears diverged from a common ancestor over time—using Bruno’s genome and those of currently living polar bears, brown bears, and a black bear.
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