Genomics of sable (Martes zibellina) x pine marten (Martes martes) hybridization
The sable (Martes zibellina) and pine marten (Martes martes) are two Palearctic mustelids with long-recognized hybrids (kidases), whose fertility was controversial for years. Early genetic studies confirmed hybrids beyond F1, but details remained unclear due to low-resolution methods. Both species were hunted for centuries, but anthropogenic pressures during the 20th-century caused severe bottlenecks in the sable followed by hunting bans and large-scale reintroduction programs across much of its range, including the sympatric zone, potentially affecting hybridization. We resequenced 30 individuals from most of the sables range and Eastern part of pine martens. Among samples, we found a broad spectrum of hybrid types with mosaic recombinant chromosomes that confirm hybrid fertility and indicate crossover is not suppressed in kidases. This necessitates re-evaluation of previous research, as we detected notable discrepancies between STR-based ancestry and whole-genome analysis. In pine martens, we revealed mitochondrial DNA introgression from sables, indicating displacement of native pine marten mitochondrial sequences. Pine marten heterozygosity is relatively low ([~]0.5-0.6 hetSNPs/kbp) while sable diversity ([~]1.5-1.8 hetSNPs/kbp) is unexpectedly high for a species with its demographic history, likely reflecting successful reintroduction programs. We dated species divergence at 1.52 (CI: 1.05-2.06) Mya and identified candidate genes associated with ecological, morphological, and dietary differences, as well as hybrid fertility issues. This study is the first to elucidate marten hybridization at the whole-genome level, opening new research directions for understanding hybridization among Holarctic martens, the genetic consequences of reintroduction programs, and comparative adaptomics.