Federico Sánchez Quinto

@fsanchezquinto.bsky.social

1/7 🧬 New preprint! What is it like to have one of the highest genomic diversities among metazoans? 🔗 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

The highly heterozygous European amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) at the edge of panmixia

Amphioxus are small marine chordates that have broad ecological ranges, yet as adults form local settlements and exhibit limited mobility. Genomic surveys of two amphioxus species have suggested that they rank among the most genetically diverse metazoans. Here, we present the first accurate assessment of genomic diversity in the European amphioxus ( Branchiostoma lanceolatum ) and investigate the processes underlying this diversity. We leverage high-coverage whole-genome sequencing data from multiple individuals sampled at two geographically distant Atlantic and Mediterranean locations. Consistent with previous estimates in other amphioxus species, we measure exceptionally high genomic diversity, with an average heterozygosity of 2.73% in B. lanceolatum . Despite the large geographic separation between sampling sites, population differentiation is minimal, indicating extensive gene flow among distant adult settlements. Phylogenetic analyses combined with population genetic simulations confirm that this elevated genomic diversity is primarily driven by a large effective population size. Although adult amphioxus have limited mobility, our results indicate that long-distance larval dispersal mediated by ocean currents is sufficient to generate a near-panmictic population structure across their broad ecological range. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Swiss National Science Foundation, 207853 Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR-21-CE13-0034

biorxiv.org

Become our colleague! - 2yr Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past (UU) @humanpastcenter.bsky.social 🧪 Great place to work at (ok, I am biased), integration with archaeologists and linguists + pretty flexible research topic www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...

Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past - Uppsala University

Postdoctoral position in Palaeo-population genomics at the Center for the Human Past, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University

uu.se

Deeply honored and grateful to have received the Reconocimiento Distinción Universidad Nacional para Jóvenes Académicos (RDUNJA) for research in the Natural Sciences 2025. This prestigious distinction is awarded to young investigators by UNAM, the National Autonomous University of Mexico. #Genomics

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Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu

Picture of MEME students on the beach