Genetic and morphological data demonstrate hybridization and backcrossing in a pair of salamanders at the far end of the speciation continuum.

ABSTRACT: Deeply diverged yet hybridizing species provide a system to investigate the final stages of the speciation process. We study a hybridizing pair of salamander species-the morphologically and genetically drastically different newts Triturus cristatus and T. marmoratus-with a panel of 32 nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. Morphologically identified hybrids are mostly of the F₁ generation and mothered by T. cristatus. The sex ratio of the F₁ hybrid class is reciprocally skewed, with a preponderance of females in T. cristatus-mothered hybrids and males in T. marmoratus-mothered hybrids. This amounts to the Haldane effect operating in one direction of the cross. Deeper generation hybrids are occasionally

SUBMITTER: Arntzen JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8674889 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature