Adaptive introgression: how polyploidy reshapes gene flow landscapes

Schmickl, Roswitha; Yant, Levi

Abstract

© 2021 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2021 New Phytologist Foundation Rare yet accumulating evidence in both plants and animals shows that whole genome duplication (WGD, leading to polyploidy) can break down reproductive barriers, facilitating gene flow between otherwise isolated species. Recent population genomic studies in wild, outcrossing Arabidopsis arenosa and Arabidopsis lyrata indicate that this WGD-potentiated gene flow can be adaptive and highly specific in response to particular environmental and intracellular challenges. The mechanistic basis of WGD-mediated easing of species barrier strength seems to primarily lie in the relative dosage of each parental genome in the endosperm. While generalisations about polyploids can be fraught, this evidence indicates that the breakdown of these barriers, combined with diploid to polyploid gene flow and gene flow between polyploids, allows some polyploids to act as adaptable ‘allelic sponges’, enjoying increased potential to respond to challenging environments.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 9, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Feb 19, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-04
• Deposit Date: Feb 16, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 20, 2022
• Journal: New Phytologist
• Print ISSN: 0028-646X
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-8137
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 230
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 457-461
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17204
• Keywords: Plant Science; Physiology
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5262738
• Publisher URL: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.17204