Contrasting levels of hybridization across the two contact zones between two hedgehog species revealed by genome-wide SNP data.

ABSTRACT: Hybridization and introgression have played important roles in the history of various species, including lineage diversification and the evolution of adaptive traits. Hybridization can accelerate the development of reproductive isolation between diverging species, and thus valuable insight into the evolution of reproductive barrier formation may be gained by studying secondary contact zones. Hedgehogs of the genus Erinaceus, which are insectivores sensitive to changes in climate, are a pioneer model in Pleistocene phylogeography. The present study provides the first genome-wide SNP data regarding the Erinaceus hedgehogs species complex, offering a unique comparison of two secondary contact zones between Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus. Results confirmed diversification of the genus d

SUBMITTER: Eliasova K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9613676 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature