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opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Data from: Conspecific olfactory preferences and interspecific divergence in odor cues in a chickadee hybrid zone

Understanding how mating cues promote reproductive isolation upon secondary contact is important in describing the speciation process in animals. Divergent chemical cues have been shown to act in reproductive isolation across many animal taxa. However, such cues have been overlooked in avian speciation, particularly in passerines, in favor of more traditional signals such as song and plumage. Here we aim to test the potential for odor to act as a mate choice cue, and therefore contribute to premating reproductive isolation between the black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadee (P. carolinensis) in eastern Pennsylvania hybrid zone populations. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we document significant species differences in uropygial gland oil chemistry, especially in the ratio of ester to non-ester compounds. We also show significant preferences for conspecific over heterospecific odor cues in wild chickadees using a Y-maze design. Our results suggest that odor may be an overlooked but important mating cue in these chickadees, potentially promoting premating reproductive isolation. We further discuss several promising avenues for future research in songbird olfactory communication and speciation.

opencc-zeroJun 2020View details →

Data from: Sperm quality, aggressiveness and generation turnover can facilitate unidirectional Y chromosome introgression across the European house mouse hybrid zone

The widespread and locally massive introgression of Y chromosomes of the eastern house mouse (Mus musculus musculus) into the range of the western subspecies (M. m. domesticus) in Central Europe calls for an explanation of its underlying mechanisms. Given the paternal inheritance pattern, obvious candidates for traits mediating the introgression are characters associated with sperm quantity and quality. We can also expect traits such as size, aggression, or the length of generation cycles to facilitate the spread. We have created two consomic strains carrying the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome of the opposite subspecies, allowing us to study introgression in both directions, something impossible in nature due to the unidirectionality of introgression. We analysed several traits potentially related to male fitness. Transmission of the domesticus Y onto the musculus background had negative effects on all studied traits. Likewise , domesticus males possessing the musculus Y had, on average, smaller body and testes and lower sperm count than the parental strain. However, the same consomic males tended to produce less dissociated sperm heads, to win more dyadic encounters, and to have shorter generation cycles than pure domesticus males. These data suggest the domesticus Y is disadvantageous on the musculus background while introgression in the opposite direction can confer a recognizable, though not always significant, selective advantage. Our results are thus congruent with the unidirectional musculus→domesticus Y chromosome introgression in Central Europe. In addition to some previous studies, they show this to be a multifaceted phenomenon demanding a multidisciplinary approach.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Riverscape properties contribute to the origin and structure of a hybrid zone in a Neotropical freshwater fish

Understanding the structure of hybrid zones provides valuable insights about species boundaries and speciation, such as the evolution of barriers to gene flow and the strength of selection. In river networks, studying evolutionary processes in hybrid zones can be especially challenging, given the influence of past and current river properties along with biological species-specific traits. Here, we suggest that a natural hybrid zone between two divergent lineages of the sexually dimorphic Neotropical fish Nematocharax venustus was probably established by secondary contact as a result of a river capture event between the Contas and Pardo river basins. This putative river capture is supported by hydrogeological evidence of elbows of capture, wind gaps, and geological faults. The morphological (color pattern) and genetic (mtDNA and RADseq) variation reveal a clinal transition between parental lineages along the main river, with predominance of F2 hybrids at the centre of the hybrid zone, absence of early generation backcrosses, and different levels of hybridization in the tributaries. We highlight that different sources of information are crucial for understanding how the riverscape spatial history influences the connectivity between and within rivers systems and, consequently, the dynamics of gene flow between freshwater lineages/species.

opencc-zeroSep 2020View details →

How do species barriers decay? concordance and local introgression in mosaic hybrid zones of mussels

The Mytilus complex of marine mussel species forms a mosaic of hybrid zones, found across temperate regions of the globe. This allows us to study "replicated" instances of secondary contact between closely-related species. Previous work on this complex has shown that local introgression is both widespread and highly heterogeneous, and has identified SNPs that are outliers of differentiation between lineages. Here, we developed an ancestry-informative panel of such SNPs. We then compared their frequencies in newly-sampled populations, including samples from within the hybrid zones, and parental populations at different distances from the contact. Results show that close to the hybrid zones, some outlier loci are near to fixation for the heterospecific allele, suggesting enhanced local introgression, or the local sweep of a shared ancestral allele. Conversely, genomic cline analyses, treating local parental populations as the reference, reveal a globally high concordance among loci, albeit with a few signals of asymmetric introgression. Enhanced local introgression at specific loci is consistent with the early transfer of adaptive variants after contact, possibly including asymmetric bi-stable variants (Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities), or haplotypes loaded with fewer deleterious mutations. Having escaped one barrier, however, these variants can be trapped or delayed at the next barrier, confining the introgression locally. These results shed light on the decay of species barriers during phases of contact.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Genomic variation data for the wagtail hybrid zone

Genome-wide variation in introgression rates across hybrid zones offers a powerful opportunity for studying population differentiation. One poorly understood pattern of introgression is the geographic displacement of a trait implicated in lineage divergence from genome-wide population boundaries. While difficult to interpret, this pattern can facilitate the dissection of trait genetic architecture because traits become uncoupled from their ancestral genomic background. We studied an example of trait displacement generated by the introgression of head plumage coloration from personata to alba subspecies of the white wagtail. A previous study of the wagtail hybrid zone in Siberia revealed that the geographic transition in this sexual signal that mediates assortative mating was offset from other traits and genetic markers. We show that head plumage is associated with two small genetic regions. Despite having a simple genetic architecture, head plumage inheritance is consistent with partial dominance and epistasis, which could contribute to its asymmetric introgression.

opencc-zeroJan 2021View details →

VCF data file and code for: CYP2J19 mediates carotenoid colour introgression across a natural avian hybrid zone

It has long been of interest to identify the phenotypic traits that mediate reproductive isolation between related species, and more recently, the genes that underpin them. Much work has focused on identifying genes associated with animal colour, with the candidate gene CYP2J19 identified in laboratory studies as the ketolase converting yellow dietary carotenoids to red ketocarotenoids in birds with red pigments. But evidence that CYP2J19 explains variation between red and yellow feather coloration in wild populations of birds is lacking. Hybrid zones provide the opportunity to identify genes associated with specific traits. Here we investigate genomic regions associated with colour in red-fronted and yellow-fronted tinkerbirds across a hybrid zone in southern Africa. We sampled 85 individuals, measuring spectral reflectance of forecrown feathers and scoring colours from photographs, while testing for carotenoid presence with Raman spectroscopy. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify associations with carotenoid-based coloration, using double-digest RAD sequencing aligned to a short-read whole genome of a Pogoniulus tinkerbird. Admixture mapping using 104,933 SNPs identified a region of chromosome 8 that includes CYP2J19 as the only locus with more than two SNPs significantly associated with both crown hue and crown score, while Raman spectra provided evidence of ketocarotenoids in red feathers. Asymmetric backcrossing in the hybrid zone suggests that yellow-fronted females mate more often with red-fronted males than vice versa. Female red-fronted tinkerbirds mating assortatively with red-crowned males is consistent with the hypothesis that converted carotenoids are an honest signal of quality.

Figure 5 in Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species

Figure 5. Cline analyses of mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite data. Transects (top) through the two different contact zones of grass snake lineages (helvetica/eastern lineages – left; yellow/red lineages – right) and associated Maximum Likelihood clines for microsatellites (centre) and mtDNA (bottom). Grey: fuzzy 95% credible cline region. Red points (top) indicate cline centres. Maps were created using ARCGIS 10.2 (http://www. esri.com/arcgis) and ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6 (http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html).

Figure 4. PCA axes 1–2 in Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species

Figure 4. PCA axes 1–2 for microsatellite data. Samples are coloured according to mitochondrial lineages (top) or STRUCTURE clusters (bottom). Admixed individuals were identified according to HYBRIDLAB results. PCAs for the yellow and red lineages correspond to the samples from Fig. 3c. Non-native samples were excluded. The oval outlines represent 95% confidential intervals. For helvetica and the eastern lineages (left) the x axis explains 16.6% and the y axis 4.5% of variation. For the eastern lineages (right) the x axis explains 3.8% and the y axis 2.9% of variation. Analyses along axes 1–3 produced nearly identical results (see Supplementary Fig. S4).

Figure 3 in Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species

Figure 3. Genotypic structuring of grass snakes. On the left, the mitochondrial lineage of each sample is shown above the STRUCTURE diagrams, with haplotypes of Natrix natrix helvetica indicated in blue and haplotypes of the eastern lineages in colours corresponding to Fig. 1 (yellow, red, lilac, grey, green; white = missing data). In (a), orange and dark blue corresponds to non-native snakes (Italian lineages). Samples in STRUCTURE diagrams are arranged within each country from west to east (a) or from north to south (b,c). In STRUCTURE diagrams, an individual sample is represented by a vertical bar reflecting its inferred ancestry. In (a), the blue cluster corresponds to N. n. helvetica and the light green cluster to all other lineages. The isolated red/light green block (first row) represents the allochthonous population from the Neander valley, Germany. In (b), samples with genetic impact of helvetica are excluded. The pink cluster corresponds to samples from the yellow and red lineages. Brown percentages indicate genetic impact of adjacent lineages (lilac, grey, green). In (c) only samples from the yellow and red lineages and their hybrids, without genetic signatures of other lineages, were processed. Country abbreviations: Ba – Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece), CH – Switzerland, CRO – Croatia, CZ – Czech Republic, FI – Finland, H – Hungary, N – Norway, NL – Netherlands, PL – Poland, S – Sweden. Maps were created using ARCGIS 10.2 (http://www.esri.com/arcgis) and ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6 (http://www.adobe. com/products/ illustrator.html).

Figure 1 in Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species

Figure 1. Distribution of mitochondrial lineages of 1,580 grass snakes used in this study. Total sample size of each clade shown in the legend. Eight allochthonous grass snakes with haplotypes of Italian lineages caught in southern Great Britain and Hesse, Germany, not shown. Map was created using ARCGIS 10.2 (http://www.esri. com/arcgis) and ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR CS6 (http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html). Inset: Natrix natrix helvetica (Linz am Rhein, Germany); photo: Wolfgang Böhme.

Figure 2 in Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species

Figure 2. Parsimony networks of mtDNA sequences. Symbol sizes reflect haplotype frequencies. Small black circles are missing node haplotypes; each line connecting two haplotypes corresponds to one mutation step, if not otherwise indicated by numbers. Haplotype colours correspond to lineages, i.e. Natrix natrix helvetica (h) in blue; eastern lineages in yellow (y) and in red (r).

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

Data from: Differential high-altitude adaptation and restricted gene flow across a mid-elevation hybrid zone in Andean tit-tyrant flycatchers

The tropical Andes are a global hotspot of avian diversity that is characterized by dramatic elevational shifts in community composition and a preponderance of recently evolved species. Bird habitats in the Andes span a nearly two-fold range of atmospheric pressure that poses challenges for respiration, thermoregulation, water balance, and powered flight, but the extent to which physiological constraints limit species' elevational distributions is poorly understood. We report a previously unknown hybrid zone between recently diverged flycatchers (Aves, Tyrannidae) with partially overlapping elevational ranges. The southern Anairetes reguloides has a broad elevational range (0-4200 m), while the northern Anairetes nigrocristatus is restricted to high elevations (>2200 m). We found hybrids in central Peru at elevations between ~3100-3800 m, with A. nigrocristatus above this elevation and A. reguloides below. We analyzed variation in hematology, heart mass, morphometrics, plumage, and one mitochondrial and three nuclear loci across an elevational transect that encompasses the hybrid zone. Phenotypic traits and genetic markers all showed steep clines across the hybrid zone. Hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, mean cellular hemoglobin concentration, and relative heart mass each increased at altitude more strongly in A. reguloides than in A. nigrocristatus. These findings suggest that A. nigrocristatus is more resistant than A. reguloides to high-altitude hypoxic respiratory stress. Considering that the ancestor of the genus is suggested to have been restricted to high elevations, A. reguloides may be secondarily adapted to low-altitude. We conclude that differential respiratory specialization on atmospheric pressure combined with competitive exclusion maintains replacement along an elevational contour, despite interbreeding.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

Data from: Chromosomal rearrangements do not seem to affect the gene flow in hybrid zones between karyotypic races of the common shrew (Sorex araneus)

Chromosomal rearrangements are proposed to promote genetic differentiation between chromosomally differentiated taxa and therefore promote speciation. Due to their remarkable karyotypic polymorphism, the shrews of the Sorex araneus group were used to investigate the impact of chromosomal rearrangements on gene flow. Five intraspecific chromosomal hybrid zones characterized by different levels of karyotypic complexity were studied using 16 microsatellites markers. We observed low levels of genetic differentiation even in the hybrid zones with the highest karyotypic complexity. No evidence of restricted gene flow between differently rearranged chromosomes was observed. Contrary to what was observed at the interspecific level, the effect of chromosomal rearrangements on gene flow was undetectable within the S. araneus species.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

Data from: Strong natural selection on juveniles maintains a narrow adult hybrid zone in a broadcast spawner

Natural selection can maintain and help form species across different habitats, even when dispersal is high. Selection against inferior migrants (immigrant inviability) acts when locally adapted populations suffer high mortality on dispersal to unsuitable habitats. Habitat-specific populations undergoing divergent selection via immigrant inviability should thus show (1) a change in the ratio of adapted to nonadapted individuals among age/size classes and (2) a cline (defined by the environmental gradient) as selection counterbalances migration. Here we examine the frequencies of two depth-segregated lineages in juveniles and adults of a Caribbean octocoral, Eunicea flexuosa. Distributions of the two lineages in both shallow and deep environments were more distinct when inferred from adults than juveniles. Despite broad larval dispersal, we also found an extremely narrow hybrid zone (<100 m), with coincident clines for molecular and morphological characters of the host coral and its algal symbiont. Effective dispersal estimates derived from the hybrid zone are remarkably small (<20 m) for a broadcast spawner. The large selection coefficient against mismatched genotypes derived from cohort data is consistent with that from field transplant experiments. Narrow hybrid zones and limited effective dispersal may be a common outcome of long periods of postsettlement, prereproductive selection across steep ecological gradients. Strong diversifying selection provides a mechanism to explain the prevalence of depth-segregated sibling species in the sea.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

Data from: Geographic variation in the structure of oak hybrid zones provides insights into the dynamics of speciation

Studying geographic variation in the rate of hybridization between closely related species could provide a useful window to understand the evolution of reproductive isolation. Reinforcement theory predicts greater prezygotic isolation in areas of prolonged contact between recently diverged species than in areas of recent contact, which implies that old contact zones would be dominated by parental phenotypes with few hybrids (bimodal hybrid zones) whereas recent contact zones would be characterized by hybrid swarms (unimodal hybrid zones). Here we investigate how the hybrid zones of two closely related Chinese oaks, Quercus mongolica and Q. liaotungensis, are structured geographically using both nuclear and chloroplast markers. We found that populations of Q. liaotungensis located around the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China, an inferred glacial refugium, are introgressed by genes from Q. mongolica, suggesting former contact between the two species in this region. Yet, these introgressed populations form sharp bimodal hybrid zones with Q. mongolica. In contrast, populations of Q. liaotungensis located in North China, which show no sign of ancient introgression with Q. mongolica, form unimodal hybrid zones with Q. mongolica. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that selection against hybrids has had sufficient time to reinforce the reproductive barriers between Q. liaotungensis and Q. mongolica in Northeast China but not in North China.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

Data from: Spatio-temporal changes in the structure of an Australian frog hybrid zone: a 40 year perspective

Spatio-temporal studies of hybrid zones provide an opportunity to test evolutionary hypotheses of hybrid zone maintenance and movement. We conducted a landscape genetics study on a classic hybrid zone of the south-eastern Australian frogs, Litoria ewingii and L. paraewingi. This hybrid zone has been comprehensively studied since the 1960s, providing the unique opportunity to directly assess changes in hybrid zone structure across time. We compared both mtDNA and male advertisement call data from two time periods (present and 1960s). Clinal analysis of the coincidence (same centre) and concordance (same width) of these traits indicated that the centre of the hybrid zone has shifted 1 km south over the last 40 years, although the width of the zone and the rate of introgression remained unchanged. The low frequency of hybrids, the strong concordance of clines within a time period and the small but significant movement across the study period despite significant anthropogenic changes through the region, suggest the hybrid zone is a tension zone located within a low density trough. Hybrid zone movement has not been considered common in the past but our findings highlight that it should be considered a crucial component to our understanding of evolution.