Epigenetic induction may speed up or slow down speciation with gene flow.

ABSTRACT: Speciation is less likely to occur when there is gene flow between nascent species. Natural selection can oppose gene flow and promote speciation if there is variation in ecological conditions among the nascent species' locations. Previous theory on ecological speciation with gene flow has focused primarily on the role of genetic variation in ecological traits, largely neglecting the role of nongenetic inheritance or transgenerational plasticity. Here, we build and analyze models incorporating both genetic and epigenetic inheritance, the latter representing a form of nongenetic inheritance. We investigate the rate of speciation for a population that inhabits two patches connected by migration, and find that adaptively biased epigenetic induction can speed up or slow down speciation, depend

SUBMITTER: Greenspoon PB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9321097 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature