Comparison of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to microsatellite markers for the study of avian hybrid zones: a test in Aphelocoma jays.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Hybrid zones are geographic regions where genetically distinct taxa interbreed, resulting in offspring of mixed ancestry. California Scrub-Jays (Aphelocoma californica) and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays (A. woodhouseii) come into secondary contact and hybridize in western Nevada. Although previous work investigated divergence and gene flow between these species using a handful of microsatellite markers, the hybrid zone has not been studied using genome-scale markers, providing an opportunity to assess genome-wide introgression, test for a genetic basis for ecomorphological traits, and compare these estimates to those derived from microsatellites.

Results

Using variant sites flanking ultraconserved elements (UCEs), we performed population assignment and quantified hybrid a

SUBMITTER: Vinciguerra NT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6657088 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature