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Don’t throw out the sympatric species with the crater lake water: fine-scale investigation of introgression provides weak support for functional role of secondary gene flow in one of the clearest examples of sympatric speciation

Emilie J. Richards, Jelmer W. Poelstra, Christopher H. Martin
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/217984
Emilie J. Richards
1Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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  • For correspondence: ejr@live.unc.edu
Jelmer W. Poelstra
1Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
2Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
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Christopher H. Martin
1Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
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Abstract

Genomic data has revealed complex histories of colonization and repeated gene flow previously unrecognized in some of the most celebrated examples of sympatric speciation and radiation. However, much of the evidence for secondary gene flow into these radiations comes from genome-wide tests, which tells us little about how gene flow potentially influenced sympatric diversification. Here we investigated whole genomes of Barombi Mbo crater lake cichlids for fine-scale patterns of introgression between species with neighboring riverine cichlid populations. We did find evidence of secondary gene flow into the radiation scattered across < 0.24% of the genome; however, the functional and genetic diversity in these regions paint no clear picture of how that variation could have contributed to the ecological and morphological diversity found in the lake. Our results suggest that either variation in novel genetic pathways introduced during secondary gene flow contributed to the radiation, or that secondary gene flow was predominantly neutral with respect to the diversification processes. We also found evidence for differential assortment of ancestral polymorphism found in riverine populations between sympatric sister species, suggesting the presence of a hybrid swarm in the past. While the history of gene flow and colonization appears to be more complicated than once thought, the lack of compelling evidence for secondary gene flow influencing diversification suggests that we should not yet rule out one of the most celebrated examples of sympatric speciation in nature.

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Posted November 11, 2017.
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Don’t throw out the sympatric species with the crater lake water: fine-scale investigation of introgression provides weak support for functional role of secondary gene flow in one of the clearest examples of sympatric speciation
Emilie J. Richards, Jelmer W. Poelstra, Christopher H. Martin
bioRxiv 217984; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/217984
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Don’t throw out the sympatric species with the crater lake water: fine-scale investigation of introgression provides weak support for functional role of secondary gene flow in one of the clearest examples of sympatric speciation
Emilie J. Richards, Jelmer W. Poelstra, Christopher H. Martin
bioRxiv 217984; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/217984

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