Italy’s bears are showing genetic signs of domestication

Humans have turned all kinds of wild animals into pets and livestock: wolves to dogs, wildcats to housecats, wild goats and sheep into their tame counterparts. Now, scientists have found evidence of domestication in the chromosomes of some of the most unlikely of animals: grizzly bears. The new research illustrates just how thoroughly the Anthropocene has left its mark on the DNA of even an animal that’s an emblem of ferocious wildness.

And it complicates efforts to boost an isolated population of bears that have spent centuries evolving next door to humans. “Human-wildlife interactions are often dangerous for the survival of a species, but may also favor the evolution of traits that reduce conflict,” said Giorgio Bertorelle, a population geneticist at Italy’s University of Ferrara who was involved in the research.

While grizzly bears – which in Europe are called brown bears – might be associated with vast swathes of wilderness in Alaska or Montana, some of these animals have spent millennia in close proximity to people. None more so than the brown bears of the Apennine Mountains, a spine of summits running down much of the Italian peninsula. Known as Apennine or Marsican brown bears, these animals live just a short distance from fields cultivated during Roman times or earlier. That long exposure to concentrations of people has taken a toll.

The population is cut off from bears elsewhere in Europe, such as Slovakia. Their numbers have been whittled to fewer than 100 animals, earning them a designation as endangered. Scientists have found that these Italian bears tend to be smaller and less aggressive. But it wasn’t clear if the differences were the product of real evolution, in which the Italian bears’ genetic makeup had changed in ways that made them better able to live close to people.

Increasingly, scientists are uncovering the genetic marks of domestication and what they tell us about the history of species such as dogs. Some have even suggested that wolves are domesticating yet again as they occupy habitat near cities. But there was no domesticated brown bear equivalent to a dog. .IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl , .IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {height: auto;position: relative;}.IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby:hover , .IRPP_ruby:visited , .IRPP_ruby:active {border:0!important;}.IRPP_ruby .clearfix:after {content: "";display: table;clear: both;}.IRPP_ruby {display: block;transition: background-color 250ms;webkit-transition: background-color 250ms;width: 100%;opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: #eaeaea;}.IRPP_ruby:active , .IRPP_ruby:hover {opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: inherit;}.IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl {background-position: center;background-size: cover;float: left;margin: 0;padding: 0;width: 31.59%;position: absolute;top: 0;bottom: 0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {float: right;width: 65.65%;padding:0;margin:0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text {display: table;height: 130px;left: 0;top: 0;padding:0;margin:0;padding-top: 20px;padding-bottom: 20px;}.IRPP_ruby .IRPP_ruby-content {display: table-cell;margin: 0;padding: 0 74px 0 0px;position: relative;vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;}.IRPP_ruby .ctaText {border-bottom: 0 solid #fff;color: #0099cc;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .postTitle {color: #000000;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .ctaButton {background: url(https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts-pro/assets/images/next-arrow.png)no-repeat;background-color: #afb4b6;background-position: center;display: inline-block;height: 100%;width: 54px;margin-left: 10px;position: absolute;bottom:0;right: 0;top: 0;}.IRPP_ruby:after {content: "";display: block;clear: both;}Recommended Reading:The ecology of fear in the Anthropocene has a new plot twist A group of Italian, French, Slovakian and U.S.

scientists collaborated to compare the entire genomes of these Italian bears to their Slovakian and U.S. Their analysis revealed that Apennine bears had a distinctive cluster of variations in genes associated with neurological activity and behavior, and several appear linked to being more docile, the scientists reported this week in Molecular Biology and Evolution.

The Apennine bears “possess selective signatures at genes associated with reduced aggressiveness,” said Giulia Fabbri, a Ferrara researcher and the paper’s lead author. The scientists suspect this occurred because natural selection favored bears that were less likely to get into clashes with nearby people, which could prove fatal for the bear (as well as the person).

It doesn’t mean they are on their way to becoming cuddly pets. But it does bear traces of domestication. These bears have the genetic wherewithal to adapt and survive in challenging circumstances, particular for such a large, far-ranging predator. It also creates something of a conundrum for conservationists trying to protect and restore the bear population.

This new, detailed genetic map shows that compared to bears elsewhere the Apennine bears are extremely inbred, a phenomenon that increases the risk that problematic genetic traits will become dominant. This is commonly seen in tiny populations isolated for a long time, where there are few choices of mates. One solution can be to import animals from outside the area, increasing the gene pool. But if the Apennine bears have developed a special genetic makeup that helps them live near people, there’s a risk that any newcomers could inadvertently introduce a tendency toward more aggressiveness.

“Even populations that have been heavily and negatively affected by human activities may harbor genetic variants that should not be diluted, for example, by restocking,” warned Bertorelle. Humans might have helped create a more tame brown bear. Whether they can figure out how to save them is another question. Fabbri, et.

“Coexisting With Humans: Genomic and Behavioral Consequences in a Small and Isolated Bear Population.” Molecular Biology and Evolution. Image: ©FC Franklin via flickr