Scattered differentiation of unlinked loci across the genome underlines ecological divergence of the selfing grass Brachypodium stacei.

ABSTRACT: Ecological divergence without geographic isolation, as an early speciation process that may lead finally to reproductive isolation through natural selection, remains a captivating topic in evolutionary biology. However, the pattern of genetic divergence underlying this process across the genome may vary between species and mating systems. Here, we present evidence that Brachypodium stacei, an annual and highly selfing grass model species, has undergone sympatric ecological divergence without geographic isolation. Genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses together with lab experiments mimicking the two opposite environmental conditions suggest that diploid B. stacei populations have diverged sympatrically in two slopes characterized by distinct biomes at Evolution Cany

SUBMITTER: Mu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10636366 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature