Exceedingly low genetic diversity in snow leopards due to persistently small population size
Solari K.A. Morgan S. Poyarkov A.D. Weckworth B. Samelius G. Sharma K. Ostrowski S. Ramakrishnan U. Kubanychbekov Z. Kachel S. Johansson Ö. Lkhagvajav P. Hemmingmoore H. Alexandrov D.Y. Bayaraa M. Grachev A. Korablev M.P. Hernandez-Blanco J.A. Munkhtsog B. Rosenbaum B. Rozhnov V.V. Rajabi A.M. Noori H. Suryawanshi K.R. Armstrong E.E. Petrov D.A.
14 October 2025National Academy of Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
2025#122Issue 41
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) serve as an umbrella species whose conservation benefits their high-elevation Asian habitat. Their numbers are believed to be in decline due to numerous anthropogenic threats; however, their conservation is hindered by numerous knowledge gaps. In particular, the dearth of genetic data, unique among all big cat species, hinders a full understanding of their population structure, historical population size, and current levels of genetic diversity. Here, we use whole-genome sequencing data for 41 snow leopards (37 newly sequenced) to offer insights into these unresolved aspects of snow leopard biology. Among our samples, we find evidence of a primary genetic divide between the northern and southern part of the range around the Dzungarian Basin—as previously identified using landscape models and fecal microsatellite markers—and a secondary divide south of Kyrgyzstan around the Taklamakan Desert. Most noteworthy, we find that snow leopards have the lowest genetic diversity of any big cat species, likely due to a persistently small population size throughout their evolutionary history rather than recent inbreeding. We also find that snow leopards have significantly less highly deleterious homozygous load compared to numerous Panthera species, suggesting effective purging during their evolutionary history at small population sizes. Without a large population size or ample standing genetic variation to help buffer them from any forthcoming anthropogenic challenges, snow leopard persistence may be more tenuous than currently appreciated. Copyright
heterozygosity , Panthera uncia , snow leopard , structure
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Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, CA, United States
A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, 119071, Russian Federation
New York, 10018, NY, United States
Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, 98103, WA, United States
Nordens Ark, Hunnebostrand, 45693, Sweden
Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, 720011, Kyrgyzstan
Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, 10460, NY, United States
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India
Ilbirs Foundation, Bishkek, 720000, Kyrgyzstan
Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Riddarhyttan, 73993, Sweden
Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation, Ulanbaatar, 14250, Mongolia
Wildlife Institute, College of Nature Conservation, the Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
Institute of Zoology of Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Academy of Sciences of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, 13330, Mongolia
Altai Institute for Research and Conservation, Boulder, 80304, CO, United States
Wildlife Conservation Society, Afghanistan Program, Afghanistan, Kabul, 1007, Afghanistan
Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, 570017, India
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, M5G 1M1, ON, Canada
School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, 99163, WA, United States
Chan Zuckerberg BioHub, San Francisco, 94158, CA, United States
Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, 94305, CA, United States
Department of Biology
A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution
New York
Snow Leopard Trust
Nordens Ark
Snow Leopard Foundation in Kyrgyzstan
Wildlife Conservation Society
National Centre for Biological Sciences
Ilbirs Foundation
Grimsö Wildlife Research Station
Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation
Wildlife Institute
Institute of Zoology of Republic of Kazakhstan
Institute of General and Experimental Biology
Altai Institute for Research and Conservation
Wildlife Conservation Society
Nature Conservation Foundation
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
School of Biological Sciences
Chan Zuckerberg BioHub
Stanford Cancer Institute
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