Dr LAURA DEAN LAURA.DEAN@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Senior Technical Specialist
Dr LAURA DEAN LAURA.DEAN@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Senior Technical Specialist
James R. Whiting
Felicity C. Jones
Professor ANDREW MACCOLL ANDREW.MACCOLL@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
PROFESSOR OF EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
Contact zones between divergent forms within a species provide insight into the role of gene flow in adaptation and speciation. Previous work has focused on contact zones involving only two divergent forms, but in nature, many more than two populations may overlap simultaneously and experience gene flow. Patterns of introgression in wild populations are, therefore, likely much more complicated than is often assumed. We begin to address this gap in current knowledge by investigating patterns of divergence and introgression across a complex natural contact zone. We use phenotypic and genomic data to confirm the existence of a three-way contact zone among divergent freshwater resident, saltwater resident and saltwater migratory three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) on the island of North Uist, Scottish Western Isles. We find evidence for hybridization, mostly between saltwater resident and saltwater migratory forms. Despite hybridization, genomic analyses reveal pairwise islands of divergence between all forms that are maintained across the contact zone. Genomic cline analyses also provide evidence for selection and/or hybrid incompatibilities in divergent regions. Divergent genomic regions occur across multiple chromosomes and involve many known adaptive loci and several chromosomal inversions. We also identify distinct immune gene expression profiles between forms, but no evidence for transgressive expression in hybrids. Our results suggest that reproductive isolation is maintained in this three-way contact zone, despite some hybridization, and that reduced recombination in chromosomal inversions may play an important role in maintaining this isolation.
Dean, L. L., Whiting, J. R., Jones, F. C., & MacColl, A. D. C. (2024). Reproductive isolation in a three‐way contact zone. Molecular Ecology, 33(5), Article e17275. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17275
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jan 10, 2024 |
Online Publication Date | Jan 18, 2024 |
Publication Date | 2024-03 |
Deposit Date | Jan 21, 2024 |
Publicly Available Date | Jan 24, 2024 |
Journal | Molecular Ecology |
Print ISSN | 0962-1083 |
Electronic ISSN | 1365-294X |
Publisher | Wiley |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 33 |
Issue | 5 |
Article Number | e17275 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17275 |
Keywords | introgression, hybrid, speciation, adaptation, contact zone, reproductive isolation |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/29841321 |
Publisher URL | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17275 |
Additional Information | Received: 2023-09-19; Accepted: 2024-01-10; Published: 2024-01-18 |
Molecular Ecology - 2024 - Dean - Reproductive isolation in a three‐way contact zone
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