Genomic signatures for latitudinal selection in the tropical eel Anguilla marmorata

Selection acting across environmental gradients, such as latitudes, can cause spatial structuring of genomic variants even within panmictic populations. In this study, we focused on the within‐generation latitudinal selection between northernmost and southernmost individuals of the North Pacific population of a tropical eel Anguilla marmorata, which shares its northernmost distribution with a temperate eel Anguilla japonica. Whole‐genome sequencing data indicated that the northernmost and southernmost individuals of A. marmorata belong to a single panmictic population, as suggested by previous studies. On the contrary, parts of genomic regions across multiple chromosomes exhibited significant genetic differentiation between the northernmost and southernmost individuals, and in these genomic regions, the genotypes of the northernmost individuals were similar to those of A. japonica. These findings suggested within‐generation latitudinal selection of A. marmorata, which might have led to genetic closeness between northernmost A. marmorata and A. japonica. Parts of genomic regions (outlier SNP loci) exhibited significant genetic differentiation between the northernmost and southernmost individuals of Anguilla marmorata, and in these genomic regions, the genotypes of the northernmost individuals of A. marmorata were similar to those of A. japonica. This finding suggests latitudinal selection in the tropical eel A. marmorata.