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In search of the Goldilocks zone for hybrid speciation.

ABSTRACT: Hybridization has recently gained considerable interest both as a unique opportunity for observing speciation mechanisms and as a potential engine for speciation. The latter remains a controversial topic. It was recently hypothesized that the reciprocal sorting of genetic incompatibilities from parental species could result in hybrid speciation, when the hybrid population maintains a mixed combination of the parental incompatibilities that prevents further gene exchange with both parental populations. However, the specifics of the purging/sorting process of multiple incompatibilities have not been examined theoretically. We here investigate the allele-frequency dynamics of an isolated hybrid population that results from a single hybridization event. Using models of two or four loci, we investigate the fate of one or two genetic incompatibilities of the Dobzhansky-Muller type (DMIs). We study how various parameters affect both the sorting/purging of the DMIs and the probability of observing hybrid speciation by reciprocal sorting. We find that the probability of hybrid speciation is strongly dependent on the linkage architecture (i.e. the order and recombination rate between loci along chromosomes), the population size of the hybrid population, and the initial relative contributions of the parental populations to the hybrid population. We identify a Goldilocks zone for specific linkage architectures and intermediate recombination rates, in which hybrid speciation becomes highly probable. Whereas an equal contribution of parental populations to the hybrid population maximizes the hybrid speciation probability in the Goldilocks zone, other linkage architectures yield unintuitive asymmetric maxima. We provide an explanation for this pattern, and discuss our results both with respect to the best conditions for observing hybrid speciation in nature and their implications regarding patterns of introgression in hybrid zones.

SUBMITTER: Blanckaert A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6145587 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:A lack of optimal gene combinations, as well as low levels of genetic diversity, is often associated with the formation of species range margins. Conservation efforts rely on predictive modelling using abiotic variables and assessments of genetic diversity to determine target species and populations for controlled breeding, germplasm conservation and assisted migration. Biotic factors such as interspecific competition and hybridization, however, are largely ignored, despite their prevalence across diverse taxa and their role as key evolutionary forces. Hybridization between species with well-developed barriers to reproductive isolation often results in the production of offspring with lower fitness. Generation of novel allelic combinations through hybridization, however, can also generate positive fitness consequences. Despite this possibility, hybridization-mediated introgression is often considered a threat to biodiversity as it can blur species boundaries. The contribution of hybridization towards increasing genetic diversity of populations at range margins has only recently gathered attention in conservation studies. We assessed the extent to which hybridization contributes towards range dynamics by tracking spatio-temporal changes in the central location of a hybrid zone between two recently diverged species of pines: Pinus strobiformis and P. flexilis. By comparing geographic cline centre estimates for global admixture coefficient with morphological traits associated with reproductive output, we demonstrate a northward shift in the hybrid zone. Using a combination of spatially explicit, individual-based simulations and linkage disequilibrium variance partitioning, we note a significant contribution of adaptive introgression towards this northward movement, despite the potential for differences in regional population size to aid hybrid zone movement. Overall, our study demonstrates that hybridization between recently diverged species can increase genetic diversity and generate novel allelic combinations. These novel combinations may allow range margin populations to track favourable climatic conditions or facilitate adaptive evolution to ongoing and future climate change.

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In search of the Goldilocks zone for hybrid speciation.

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