Ancient Introgression Explains Mitochondrial Genome Capture and Mitonuclear Discordance Among South American Collared Tropidurus Lizards.

ABSTRACT: Mitonuclear discordance-evolutionary discrepancies between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA phylogenies-can arise from various factors, including introgression, incomplete lineage sorting, recent or ancient demographic fluctuations, sex-biased dispersal asymmetries, among others. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for accurately reconstructing evolutionary histories, as failing to account for discordance can lead to misinterpretations of species boundaries, phylogenetic relationships, and historical biogeographic patterns. We investigate the evolutionary drivers of mitonuclear discordance in the Tropidurus spinulosus species group, which contains nine species of lizards inhabiting open tropical and subtropical environments in South America. Using a combination of population genetic and

SUBMITTER: Salles MMA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12573731 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature