Uncovering the enigmatic evolution of bears in greater depth: The hybrid origin of the Asiatic black bear.

ABSTRACT: Bears are fascinating mammals because of their complex pattern of speciation and rapid evolution of distinct phenotypes. Interspecific hybridization has been common and has shaped the complex evolutionary history of bears. In this study, based on the largest population-level genomic dataset to date involving all Ursinae species and recently developed methods for detecting hybrid speciation, we provide explicit evidence for the hybrid origin of Asiatic black bears, which arose through historical hybridization between the ancestor of polar bear/brown bear/American black bears and the ancestor of sun bear/sloth bears. This was inferred to have occurred soon after the divergence of the two parental lineages in Eurasia due to climate-driven population expansion and dispersal. In addition, we fo

SUBMITTER: Zou T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9351369 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature