Applications of Population Genomics for Understanding and Mitigating Wildlife Disease

Infectious diseases are increasingly threatening wildlife populations, domestic animal populations, and human health. Ongoing advances in genomic technologies are providing a growing set of tools for mitigating the impacts of wildlife diseases, enabling researchers to rapidly identify new pathogen threats, understand the mechanisms by which they affect populations, and predict future impacts and patterns of pathogen spread. In this chapter, we introduce a series of case studies that exemplify the broad utility of current genomic approaches for addressing the diverse challenges associated with managing wildlife diseases. The host-pathogen systems we present range from endemic to epidemic, and from those that are well-characterized to examples for which the causative agent remains unknown, necessitating a variety of genomic approaches specific to each disease system. We show how genomic approaches have been applied in each example, identifying lessons learned from each case study that can be used to guide future genomic investigations of novel disease systems. Finally, drawing upon these examples, we identify common challenges and emerging approaches through which genomics can enhance management of wildlife diseases now and into the future.