Genetic differentiation, behavioural reproductive isolation and mixis cues in three sibling species of monogonont rotifers.

ABSTRACT: Many aquatic species usually considered to be 'cosmopolitan' have been identified as cryptic species complexes, based on deep genetic differentiation. However, reproductive isolation among sibling cryptic species has rarely been studied, and interspecific hybridization is common in some taxa.We investigated isolation mechanisms and possible introgression among three cyclical parthenogenetic rotifer species in the Epiphanes senta complex that are found in very different freshwater habitats: temperate floodplains, subtropical desert rock pools and a tropical alpine lake. Whereas Epiphanes ukera is reproductively isolated from E. chihuahuaensis and E. hawaiiensis, the latter hybridize under laboratory conditions.While reproductive isolation is incomplete, RAPD profiles indicated unique geneti

SUBMITTER: Schroder T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2992322 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature