Morning glory species co-occurrence is associated with asymmetrically decreased and cascading reproductive isolation.

ABSTRACT: Hybridization between species can affect the strength of the reproductive barriers that separate those species. Two extensions of this effect are (1) the expectation that asymmetric hybridization or gene flow will have asymmetric effects on reproductive barrier strength and (2) the expectation that local hybridization will affect only local reproductive barrier strength and could therefore alter within-species compatibility. We tested these hypotheses in a pair of morning glory species that exhibit asymmetric gene flow from highly selfing Ipomoea lacunosa into mixed-mating Ipomoea cordatotriloba in regions where they co-occur. Because of the direction of this gene flow, we predicted that reproductive barrier strength would be more strongly affected in I. cordatotriloba

SUBMITTER: Ostevik KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7857285 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature