The population structure and genetic health of European wolves

Evelyn T. Todd; Claudia Fontsere; Xin Sun; Camilla Hjorth Scharff‐Olsen; Germán Hernández‐Alonso; Liam Thomas Lanigan; Nuno Filipe Gomes Martins; Marta Maria Ciucani; Jazmín Ramos‐Madrigal; Lauren Mae Hennelly; Sarah S.T. Mak; Žanete Andersone; Angelica Åsberg; Linas Balčiauskas; Laima Baltrūnaitė; Gennady F. Baryshnikov; Bazartseren Boldbaatar; Bazartseren Boldgiv; Barbora Černá Bolfíková; Tomasz Borowik; Dominika Bujnáková; Paolo Ciucci; Ayşegül Karaahmetoğlu Çoban; Emrah Çoban; Maria Erlandsson; Øystein Flagstad; Laurent Frantz; Eli Geffen; Jenni Harmoinen; Lina Jelk

doi:10.64898/2026.03.20.712003

GenomicsbioRxivMar 21, 2026

Preprint

The population structure and genetic health of European wolves

Evelyn T. Todd iD, Claudia Fontsere iD, Xin Sun iD, Camilla Hjorth Scharff‐Olsen iD, Germán Hernández‐Alonso iD, Liam Thomas Lanigan iD, Nuno Filipe Gomes Martins iD, Marta Maria Ciucani iD, Jazmín Ramos‐Madrigal iD, Lauren Mae Hennelly iD, Sarah S.T. Mak iD, Žanete Andersone, Angelica Åsberg, Linas Balčiauskas iD, Laima Baltrūnaitė iD, Gennady F. Baryshnikov, Bazartseren Boldbaatar iD, Bazartseren Boldgiv iD, Barbora Černá Bolfíková iD, Tomasz Borowik iD, Dominika Bujnáková iD, Paolo Ciucci iD, Ayşegül Karaahmetoğlu Çoban iD, Emrah Çoban iD, Maria Erlandsson iD, , Shyam Gopalakrishnan iD

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Abstract

Once nearly eradicated from Europe, grey wolves (Canis lupus) have recently undergone a remarkable demographic recovery, but their long-term survival remains precarious. By analyzing 1,001 genomes, we uncover a mosaic of distinct evolutionary lineages, not a single recovering population. Northern populations exhibit Asian wolf ancestry, while southern populations preserve ancient Holocene lineages, with dog introgression varying by region. Isolated wolves from the Scandinavian, Italian, and Iberian peninsulas harbored particularly high levels of inbreeding and fixed deleterious mutations. Signatures of genome erosion were widespread across Europe, with many populations falling well short of the minimum size recommended for long-term survival. Our study reveals the complex tapestry of wolf ancestry and variation across Europe, which calls for nuanced, regional conservation plans founded in genetic monitoring.