scholarly journals Mate choice enhances post-zygotic barriers to gene flow via ancestry bundling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavitra Muralidhar ◽  
Graham Coop ◽  
Carl Veller
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Hybrid Zones ◽  
Genetic Introgression ◽  
Genetic Isolation ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Zygotic Selection

Hybridization and subsequent genetic introgression are now known to be common features of the histories of many species, including our own. Following hybridization, post-zygotic selection tends to purge introgressed DNA genome-wide. While mate choice can prevent hybridization in the first place, it is also known to play an important role in post-zygotic selection against hybrids, and thus the purging of introgressed DNA. However, this role is usually thought of as a direct one: a mating preference for conspecifics reduces the sexual fitness of hybrids, reducing the transmission of introgressed ancestry. Here, we explore a second, indirect role of mate choice as a barrier to gene flow. Under assortative mating, parents covary in their ancestry, causing ancestry to be "bundled" in their offspring and later generations. This bundling effect increases ancestry variance in the population, enhancing the efficiency with which post-zygotic selection purges introgressed DNA. Using whole-genome simulations, we show that the bundling effect can comprise a substantial portion of mate choice's overall effect as a postzygotic barrier to gene flow, and that it is driven by ancestry covariances both between and within maternally and paternally inherited genomes. Using estimates of the strength of assortative mating in avian hybrid zones, we calculate that the bundling effect of mate choice may increase the amount of purging of introgressed DNA by 40-80%, contributing substantially to the genetic isolation of species.

scholarly journals Sexual isolation with and without ecological isolation in marine isopods J. albifrons and J. praehirsuta

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambre Ribardière ◽  
Elsa Pabion ◽  
Jérôme Coudret ◽  
Claire Daguin-Thiébaut ◽  
Céline Houbin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Free Choice ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Sexual Isolation ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
Experimental Population ◽  
Species Pair ◽  
Ecological Isolation

AbstractSexual barriers associated with mate choice are nearly always found to be associated with some level of ecological isolation between species. The independence and relative strength of sexual isolation are thus difficult to assess. Here we take advantage of a pair of isopod species (Jaera albifrons and J. praehirsuta) that show sexual isolation and coexist in populations where they share the same microhabitat or not (i.e. without or with ecological isolation). Using no-choice trials and a free-choice experimental population, we estimated the strength of sexual isolation between J. albifrons and J. praehirsuta individuals originating from these different ecological contexts. We found that sexual isolation is strong in presence and absence of ecological isolation, but that it is asymmetric and fails to prevent gene flow entirely. First-generation post-zygotic barriers were low, and there was no sexual isolation within J. praehirsuta across habitats. The J. albifrons / J. praehirsuta species pair thus provides an example where the role of sexual isolation as a barrier to gene flow i) does not depend upon current ecological isolation, ii) seems to have evolved independently of local ecological conditions, but iii) is insufficient to complete speciation entirely on its own.

Mate Choice, Speciation, and Hybridization

Mate Choice ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gil G. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Genetic Exchange ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Individual Mating ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Isolated Species ◽  
Geographically Isolated

This chapter reviews the ample literature on mate choice and speciation, as well as the more novel topic of mate choice and genetic exchange among species. It begins by discussing the widespread support for the intuitive predictions that mate choice should promote diversification among geographically isolated species, and that mate choice should evolve to minimize drastic loss of fitness through hybridization. The role of mate choice is more complicated when there is incomplete divergence between lineages; depending on their relationship to other traits under selection, mating preferences can act to accelerate speciation through reinforcement, but they can also act to increase gene flow between divergent lineages. Finally, the chapter addresses the relationship between individual mating decisions and hybridization between species.

scholarly journals What shapes the continuum of reproductive isolation? Lessons from Heliconius butterflies

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1856) ◽  
pp. 20170335 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mérot ◽  
C. Salazar ◽  
R. M. Merrill ◽  
C. D. Jiggins ◽  
M. Joron
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Hybrid Sterility ◽  
Wing Pattern ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Comparative Results ◽  
Phylogenetic Divergence ◽  
The Continuum

The process by which species evolve can be illuminated by investigating barriers that limit gene flow between taxa. Recent radiations, such as Heliconius butterflies, offer the opportunity to compare isolation between pairs of taxa at different stages of ecological, geographical, and phylogenetic divergence. Here, we report a comparative analysis of existing and novel data in order to quantify the strength and direction of isolating barriers within a well-studied clade of Heliconius . Our results highlight that increased divergence is associated with the accumulation of stronger and more numerous barriers to gene flow. Wing pattern is both under natural selection for Müllerian mimicry and involved in mate choice, and therefore underlies several isolating barriers. However, pairs which share a similar wing pattern also display strong reproductive isolation mediated by traits other than wing pattern. This suggests that, while wing pattern is a key factor for early stages of divergence, it may become facultative at later stages of divergence. Additional factors including habitat partitioning, hybrid sterility, and chemically mediated mate choice are associated with complete speciation. Therefore, although most previous work has emphasized the role of wing pattern, our comparative results highlight that speciation is a multi-dimensional process, whose completion is stabilized by many factors.

scholarly journals Pairing dynamics and the origin of species

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1731) ◽  
pp. 1085-1092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Puebla ◽  
Eldredge Bermingham ◽  
Frédéric Guichard
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Population Genetic Analysis ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Individual Based Simulation ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Standing Question

Whether sexual selection alone can drive the evolution of assortative mating in the presence of gene flow is a long-standing question in evolutionary biology. Here, we report a role for pairing dynamics of individuals when mate choice is mutual, which is sufficient for the evolution of assortative mating by sexual selection alone in the presence of gene flow. Through behavioural observation, individual-based simulation and population genetic analysis, we evaluate the pairing dynamics of coral reef fish in the genus Hypoplectrus (Serranidae), and the role these dynamics can play for the evolution of assortative mating. When mate choice is mutual and the stability of mating pairs is critical for reproductive success, the evolution of assortative mating in the presence of gene flow is not only possible, but is also a robust evolutionary outcome.

scholarly journals Assortative mating and the role of phenotypic plasticity in male competition: implications for gene flow among host-associated parasitoid populations

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 508-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee M Henry
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Mating Preference ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Mating Preferences

Local adaptation is promoted when habitat or mating preferences reduce gene flow between populations. However, gene flow is not only a function of dispersal but also of the success of migrants in their new habitat. In this study I investigated mating preference in conjunction with phenotypic plasticity using Aphidius parasitoids adapted to different host species. Males actively attempted to assortatively mate, but actual mating outcomes were strongly influenced by the relative size of the adult males. Results are discussed in the context of assortative mating in combination with the success of migrant males in mitigating gene flow between host-associated parasitoid populations.

scholarly journals Mate choice and gene expression signatures associated with nutritional adaptation in the medfly (Ceratitis capitata)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Nash ◽  
Irina Mohorianu ◽  
Tracey Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Ceratitis Capitata ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Host Shifts ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Gene Expression Signatures ◽  
Mating Tests ◽  
Genome Wide Survey

AbstractEvolutionary responses to nutrition are key to understanding host shifts and the potential for reproductive isolation. Previously, experimental evolution was used to describe responses of the medfly (Ceratitis capitata) to divergent larval diets. Within 30 generations there was divergence in larval development time, egg to adult survival and adaptation in adult body size. In this study, the gene expression signatures associated with these changes were examined, using mRNA-seq on males following 60 generations of nutritional selection. Variation in gene expression was also validated using qRT-PCR. The results showed observed an over-representation of differential expression in metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation and proteolysis genes. In addition, at generations 60 and 90, we tested whether these evolved patterns (differences in gene expression) were associated with mate choice. We found evidence for assortative mating by diet at generation 60, but not in mating tests within and between replicate lines at generation 90. Hence, there was no consistent evidence for assortative mating by diet, which emphasises the importance of replicate tests of evolutionary responses over time. Overall, the study provides the first genome-wide survey of the putative mechanisms underpinning evolved responses to nutritional adaptation.

scholarly journals What shapes the continuum of reproductive isolation? Lessons from Heliconius butterflies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mérot ◽  
C. Salazar ◽  
R. M. Merrill ◽  
C. Jiggins ◽  
M. Joron
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Hybrid Sterility ◽  
Habitat Isolation ◽  
Wing Pattern ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Comparative Results ◽  
Phylogenetic Divergence

AbstractThe process by which species evolve can be illuminated by investigating barriers that limit gene flow between taxa. Recent radiations, such as Heliconius butterflies, offer the opportunity to compare isolation between pairs of taxa at different stages of ecological, geographic and phylogenetic divergence. We carry out a comparative analysis of existing and novel data in order to quantify the strength and direction of isolating barriers within a well-studied clade of Heliconius. Our results highlight that increased divergence is associated with the accumulation of stronger and more numerous barriers to gene flow. Wing pattern is both under natural selection for Müllerian mimicry and involved in mate choice, and therefore underlies several isolating barriers. However, pairs which share a similar wing pattern, also display strong reproductive isolation mediated by traits other than wing pattern. This suggests that, while wing pattern is a key factor for early stages of divergence, it is not essential at a higher level. Additional factors including habitat isolation, hybrid sterility and chemically-mediated mate choice are associated with complete speciation. Therefore, although most previous work has emphasised the role of wing pattern, our comparative results highlight that speciation is a multidimensional process, whose completion is stabilized by many factors.

scholarly journals Symmetrical discrimination despite weak song differentiation in 2 suboscine bird sister species

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 1205-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Macedo ◽  
Marco Silva ◽  
Fábio Raposo do Amaral ◽  
Marcos Maldonado-Coelho
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
Genetic Introgression ◽  
Specific Recognition ◽  
Song Variation ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Evolutionary Lineages

Abstract Song mediates territorial competition and mate choice in birds and population divergence in this signal can have important evolutionary consequences. For example, divergent songs can act in specific recognition and limit gene flow and, hence, have a fundamental role on the origin and/or integrity of evolutionary lineages. Especially interesting systems to test the role of song in specific recognition are species pairs that present small structural differences in this signal. Here, we perform song play-back experiments on males of a long-diverged sister pair of Neotropical Suboscine species, the squamate antbird (Myrmoderus squamosus) and the white-bibbed antbird (Myrmoderus loricatus), which occur in parapatry in the Atlantic Forest and that overlap extensively in song variation. Previous evidence indicates that genetic introgression between these species is either absent or negligible, suggesting that vocal discrimination or other mechanisms function as effective barriers to gene flow. Our results show that responses to heterospecific songs were symmetrical and intermediary compared with responses to conspecific songs in both species. A stronger response to conspecific territorial songs suggests that conspecific individuals pose greater competitive threat than heterospecifics. An important implication of our study is that even small song differences can play an important role in specific recognition.

An analysis of the causes of genetic isolation in two Pacific Coast iris hybrid zones

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 2006-2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Hybrid Zone ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Tube Length ◽  
Reciprocal Transplant ◽  
Hybrid Zones ◽  
Genetic Isolation ◽  
Habitat Association ◽  
Perianth Tube

In: two Pacific Coast Iris hybrid zones, the causes of genetic isolation appear to differ substantially. The Iris douglasiana – Iris innominata hybrid zone follows an ecotone a few kilometres inland from the ocean, implying different habitat associations for the two species, perhaps because of climate. Reciprocal transplant experiments showed that habitat association plays a major role in isolation. Each species survives best in its own habitat. Additional differences in perianth-tube length and flowering time between the two species have not developed into significant genetic isolating factors. The second hybrid zone occurs where species with different perianth-tube lengths co-occur (Iris chrysophylla – Iris tenax). Crosses between long- and short-tubed species suggest that differences in perianth-tube length can limit gene flow. Gene flow is also limited in the other direction, because the long-tubed species, I. chrysophylla, blooms earlier (though the flowering periods overlap). Coupled with the fact that these irises are all protandrous (anthers mature about 3 days before stigmas), relatively few days will be available when the long-tubed species can pollinate the short-tubed species. This combination of factors is probably a major form of genetic isolation in the I. chrysophylla – I. tenax zone. Keywords: speciation, reciprocal transplant, habitat association, phenology.

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