Spatial proximity determines post-speciation introgression in Solanum [article]

Jennafer Hamlin, Leonie C Moyle
2019 bioRxiv   pre-print
An increasing number of phylogenomic studies have documented a clear footprint of post-speciation introgression among closely-related species. Nonetheless, systematic genome-wide studies of factors influencing the likelihood of introgression remain rare. Here, we use an a priori hypothesis-testing framework, and introgression statistics, to evaluate the prevalence and frequency of introgression. Specifically, with whole genome sequences from 32 lineages of wild tomato species, we assess the
more » ... ct of three factors on introgression: genetic relatedness, geographical proximity, and mating system differences. Using multiple trios within the ABBA-BABA test, we find that one of our factors, geographic proximity, is consistently associated with evidence for recent introgression between species. Of 14 species pairs with proximate versus distant population comparisons, 12 showed evidence of introgression; in ten of these cases, this was more prevalent between geographically-closer populations. We found no evidence that introgression varies systematically with increasing genetic divergence between lineages or with mating system differences, although we have limited power to address the latter effect. While our analysis indicates that recent post-speciation introgression is frequent in this group, estimated levels of genetic exchange are modest (0.05-1.5% of the genome), so the relative importance of hybridization in shaping the evolutionary trajectories of these species could be limited. Regardless, similar clade-wide analyses of genomic introgression would be valuable for disentangling the major ecological, reproductive, and historical determinants of post-speciation gene flow, and for assessing the relative importance of introgression as a source of evolutionary change.
doi:10.1101/529115 fatcat:22ddehoddjboddi467njvr3y74