High levels of interspecific gene flow in an endemic cichlid fish adaptive radiation from an extreme lake environment.

ABSTRACT: Studying recent adaptive radiations in isolated insular systems avoids complicating causal events and thus may offer clearer insight into mechanisms generating biological diversity. Here, we investigate evolutionary relationships and genomic differentiation within the recent radiation of Alcolapia cichlid fish that exhibit extensive phenotypic diversification, and which are confined to the extreme soda lakes Magadi and Natron in East Africa. We generated an extensive RAD data set of 96 individuals from multiple sampling sites and found evidence for genetic admixture between species within Lake Natron, with the highest levels of admixture between sympatric populations of the most recently diverged species. Despite considerable environmental separation, populations within Lake Natron do not

SUBMITTER: Ford AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4973668 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature