Variable levels of introgression between the endangered Podarcis carbonelli and highly divergent congeneric species.

ABSTRACT: Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that speciation with gene flow is more common than previously thought. From a conservation perspective, the potential negative effects of hybridization raise concerns on the genetic integrity of endangered species. However, introgressive hybridization has also been growingly recognized as a source of diversity and new advantageous alleles. Carbonell's wall lizard (Podarcis carbonelli) is an endangered species whose distribution overlaps with four other congeneric species. Our goal here was to determine whether P. carbonelli is completely reproductively isolated from its congeners and to evaluate the relevance of hybridization and interspecific gene flow for developing a conservation plan. We used restriction site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing to

SUBMITTER: Caeiro-Dias G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8027454 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature