Fluctuating selection in a Monkeyflower hybrid zone.

ABSTRACT: While hybridization was viewed as a hindrance to adaptation and speciation by early evolutionary biologists, recent studies have demonstrated the importance of hybridization in facilitating evolutionary processes. However, it is still not well-known what role spatial and temporal variation in natural selection play in the maintenance of naturally occurring hybrid zones. To identify whether hybridization is adaptive between two closely related monkeyflower species, Mimulus guttatus and Mimulus laciniatus, we performed repeated reciprocal transplants between natural hybrid and pure species' populations. We planted parental genotypes along with multiple experimental hybrid generations in a dry (2021) and extremely wet (2023) year in the Sierra Nevada, CA. By taking fine scale en

SUBMITTER: Tataru D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11212913 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature