Genomic architecture of phenotypic divergence between two hybridizing plant species along an elevational gradient.

ABSTRACT: Knowledge of the genetic basis of phenotypic divergence between species and how such divergence is caused and maintained is crucial to an understanding of speciation and the generation of biodiversity. The hybrid zone between Senecio aethnensis and S. chrysanthemifolius on Mount Etna, Sicily, provides a well-studied example of species divergence in response to conditions at different elevations, despite hybridization and gene flow. Here, we investigate the genetic architecture of divergence between these two species using a combination of quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and genetic differentiation measures based on genetic marker analysis. A QTL architecture characterized by physical QTL clustering, epistatic interactions between QTLs, and pleiotropy was identified, and is consisten

SUBMITTER: Brennan AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4887755 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature