Biology subjects

Blanckaert, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Blanckaert, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

The Limits to Parapatric Speciation II: Strengthening a Preexisting Genetic Barrier to Gene Flow in Parapatry

Parapatric speciation has recently received a lot of attention. By encompassing the whole continuum between allopatric and sympatric scenarios, it includes many potential scenarios for the evolution of new species. Building upon previous work, we investigate how a genetic barrier to gene flow, that relies on a single postzygotic genetic incompatibility, may further evolve. We consider a continent island model with three loci involved in pairwise Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities (DMIs). Using a deterministic and analytic approach, we derive the conditions for invasion of a new mutation and its consequences on an already existing genetic barrier to gene flow. We focus on quantifying the impact of the epistasis generated by the new mutation on the genetic barrier. We show that the accumulation of genetic incompatibilities in the presence of gene flow is a complex process, where new mutations can either strengthen or destroy a preexisting barrier. In particular, preexisting polymorphism and incompatibilities do not always facilitate the growth of the genetic barrier by accumulation of further barrier genes. Migration may disrupt the snowball effect (the accelerating rate of DMI accumulation in allopatry) because incompatibilities are directly tested by selection. Our results also show an ambiguous role of gene flow, which can either impede or facilitate the strengthening of the genetic barrier. Overall, our results illustrate how the inclusion of gene flow renders the building of a genetic barrier difficult to analyze.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

In search of the Goldilocks zone for hybrid speciation

Hybridization has recently gained considerable interest both as a unique window for observing speciation mechanisms and as a potential engine of speciation. The latter remains a controversial topic. It was recently hypothesized that the reciprocal sorting of genetic incompatibilities from parental species could result in hybrid speciation, when the hybrid population maintains a mixed combination of the parental incompatibilities that prevents further gene exchange with both parental populations. However, the specifics of the purging/sorting process of multiple incompatibilities have not been examined theoretically.\n\nWe here investigate the allele-frequency dynamics of an isolated hybrid population that results from a single hybridization event. Using models of 2 or 4 loci, we investigate the fate of one or two genetic incompatibilities of the Dobzhansky-Muller type (DMIs). We study how various parameters affect both the sorting/purging of the DMIs and the probability of observing hybrid speciation by reciprocal sorting. We find that the probability of hybrid speciation is strongly dependent on the linkage architecture (i.e. the order and recombination distance between loci along chromosomes), the population size of the hybrid population, and the initial relative contribution of the parental populations to the hybrid population. We identify a Goldilocks zone for specific linkage architectures and intermediate recombination rates, in which hybrid speciation becomes highly probable. Whereas an equal contribution of parental populations to the hybrid populations maximizes the hybrid speciation probability in the Goldilocks zone, other linkage architectures yield unintuitive asymmetric maxima. We provide an explanation for this pattern, and discuss our results both with respect to the best conditions for observing hybrid speciation in nature and their implications regarding patterns of introgression in hybrid zones.\n\nSummaryHybridization is observed ubiquitously in nature. Its outcome can range from extinction to the creation of new species. With respect to the latter, the probability of homoploid hybrid speciation, i.e. the formation of a new species as a result of an hybridization event without changes in the ploidy of the organism, is a hotly debated topic. Here, we analyze a minimal model for homoploid hybrid speciation, in which reproductive isolation is achieved by means of (postzygotic) Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. When these postzygotic genetic incompatibilities are resolved in the hybrid population, their reciprocal sorting can result in reproductive isolation from both parental populations, thus creating a hybrid species. We show that, in accordance with the current literature, hybrid speciation tends to be rare. However, specific arrangements of the genes responsible for reproductive isolation can make reciprocal sorting almost unavoidable and thus create barriers to the parental population in an almost deterministic matter. We discuss the implications of these results for hybrid speciation and patterns of introgression in nature.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Conflict between heterozygote advantage and hybridincompatibility in haplodiploids (and sex chromosomes)

In many diploid species the sex chromosomes play a special role in mediating reproductive isolation. In haplodiploids, where females are diploid and males haploid, the whole genome behaves similarly to the X/Z chromosomes of diploids. Therefore, haplodiploid systems can serve as a model for the role of sex chromosomes in speciation and hybridization. A previously described population of Finnish Formica wood ants displays genome-wide signs of ploidally and sexually antagonistic selection resulting from hybridization. Here, hybrid females have increased survivorship but hybrid males are inviable. To understand how the unusual hybrid population may be maintained, we developed a mathematical model with hybrid incompatibility, female heterozygote advantage, recombination, and assortative mating. The rugged fitness landscape resulting from the co-occurrence of heterozygote advantage and hybrid incompatibility results in a sexual conflict in haplodiploids, which is caused by the ploidy difference. Thus, whereas heterozygote advantage always promotes long-term polymorphism in diploids, we find various outcomes in haplodiploids in which the population stabilizes either in favor of males, females, or via maximizing the number of introgressed individuals. We discuss these outcomes with respect to the potential long-term fate of the Finnish wood ant population, and provide approximations for the extension of the model to multiple incompatibilities. Moreover, we highlight the general implications of our results for speciation and hybridization in haplodiploids versus diploids, and how the described fitness relationships could contribute to the outstanding role of sex chromosomes as hotspots of sexual antagonism and genes involved in speciation.

evolutionary biology↗