Steep, coincident, and concordant clines in mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes in a hybrid zone between subspecies of Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus.

ABSTRACT: Steep genetic clines resulting from recent secondary contact between previously isolated taxa can either gradually erode over time or be stabilized by factors such as ecological selection or selection against hybrids. We used patterns of variation in 30 nuclear and two mitochondrial SNPs to examine the factors that could be involved in stabilizing clines across a hybrid zone between two subspecies of the Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus. Increased heterozygote deficit and cytonuclear disequilibrium in populations near the center of the mtDNA cline suggest that some form of reproductive isolation such as assortative mating or selection against hybrids may be acting in this hybrid zone. However, only a small number of loci exhibited these signatures, suggesting locus-specific, rathe

SUBMITTER: McKenzie JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4983590 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature