Perspectives on the clonal persistence of presumed 'ghost' genomes in unisexual or allopolyploid taxa arising via hybridization.

ABSTRACT: Although hybridization between non-sibling species rarely results in viable or fertile offspring, it occasionally produces self-perpetuating or sexually-parasitic lineages in which ancestral genomes are inherited clonally and thus may persist as 'ghost species' after ancestor extinction. Ghost species have been detected in animals and plants, for polyploid and diploid organisms, and across clonal, semi-clonal, and even sexual reproductive modes. Here we use a detailed investigation of the evolutionary and taxonomic status of a newly-discovered, putative ghost lineage (HX) in the fish genus Hypseleotris to provide perspectives on several important issues not previously explored by other studies on ghost species, but relevant to ongoing discussions about their detection, conservation, and ar

SUBMITTER: Unmack PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6426837 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature