Sperm-related phenotypes implicated in both maintenance and breakdown of a natural species barrier in the house mouse

The house mouse hybrid zone (HMHZ) is a species barrier thought to be maintained by a balance between dispersal and natural selection against hybrids. While the HMHZ is characterized by frequency discontinuities for some sex chromosome markers, there is an unexpected large-scale regional introgression of a Y chromosome across the barrier, in defiance of Haldane''s rule. Recent work suggests that a major force maintaining the species barrier acts through sperm traits. Here, we test whether the Y chromosome penetration of the species barrier acts through sperm traits by assessing sperm characteristics of wild-caught males directly in a field laboratory set up in a Y introgression region of the HMHZ, later calculating the hybrid index of each male using 1401 diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found that both sperm count (SC) and sperm velocity were significantly reduced across the natural spectrum of hybrids. However, SC was more than rescued in the presence of the invading Y. Our results imply an asymmetric advantage for Y chromosome introgression consistent with the observed large-scale introgression. We suggest that selection on sperm-related traits probably explains a large component of patterns observed in the natural hybrid zone, including the Y chromosome penetration.     

Genomics of isolation in hybrids

Hybrid zones are common in nature and can offer critical insights into the dynamics and components of reproductive isolation. Hybrids between diverged lineages are particularly informative about the genetic architecture of reproductive isolation, because introgression in an admixed population is a direct measure of isolation. In this paper, we combine simulations and a new statistical model to determine the extent to which different genetic architectures of isolation leave different signatures on genome-level patterns of introgression. We found that reproductive isolation caused by one or several loci of large effect caused greater heterogeneity in patterns of introgression than architectures involving many loci with small fitness effects, particularly when isolating factors were closely linked. The same conditions that led to heterogeneous introgression often resulted in a reasonable correspondence between outlier loci and the genetic loci that contributed to isolation. However, demographic conditions affected both of these results, highlighting potential limitations to the study of the speciation genomics. Further progress in understanding the genomics of speciation will require large-scale empirical studies of introgression in hybrid zones and model-based analyses, as well as more comprehensive modelling of the expected levels of isolation with different demographies and genetic architectures of isolation.     

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 on 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, were introgressed by genes from Q. mongolica, suggesting historical contact between the two species in this region. However, 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.     

A POSTINSEMINATION BARRIER TO FERTILIZATION ISOLATES TWO CLOSELY RELATED GROUND CRICKETS

Postinsemination barriers to fertilization generally have been ignored by biologists interested in the origin and nature of reproductive isolation among closely related terrestrial animals. Yet evidence presented in this paper indicates that such a barrier bears primary responsibility for the reproductive isolation between the ground crickets Allonemobius fasciatus and Allonemobius socius. Postinsemination barriers to fertilization may isolate many other terrestrial animals as well, but the design of most laboratory hybridization experiments precludes the detection of these barriers.     

Airborne‐pollen pool and mating pattern in a hybrid zone between Pinus pumila and P. parviflora var. pentaphylla

The reproductive isolation barriers and the mating patterns among Pinus pumila, P. parviflora var. pentaphylla and their hybrids were examined by flowering phenology and genetic assays of three life stages: airborne‐pollen grains, adults and seeds, in a hybrid zone on Mount Apoi, Hokkaido, Japan. Chloroplast DNA composition of the airborne‐pollen was determined by single‐pollen polymerase chain reaction. Mating patterns were analysed by estimating the molecular hybrid index of the seed parent, their seed embryos and pollen parents. The observation of flowering phenology showed that the flowering of P. pumila precedes that of P. parviflora var. pentaphylla by about 6 to 10 days within the same altitudinal ranges. Although this prezygotic isolation barrier is effective, the genetic assay of airborne‐pollen showed that the two pine species, particularly P. pumila, still have chances to form F₁ hybrid seeds. Both parental species showed a strong assortative mating pattern; F₁ seeds were found in only 1.4% of seeds from P. pumila mother trees and not at all in P. parviflora var. pentaphylla. The assortative mating was concluded as the combined result of flowering time differentiation and cross‐incompatibility. In contrast to the parental species, hybrids were fertilized evenly by the two parental species and themselves. The breakdown of prezygotic barriers (intermediate flowering phenology) and cross‐incompatibility may account for the unselective mating. It is suggested that introgression is ongoing on Mount Apoi through backcrossing between hybrids and parental species, despite strong isolation barriers between the parental species.