The strength of reproductive isolating barriers in seed plants: Insights from studies quantifying premating and postmating reproductive barriers over the past 15 years.

ABSTRACT: Speciation is driven by the evolution of reproductive isolating barriers that reduce, and ultimately prevent, substantial gene flow between lineages. Despite its central role in evolutionary biology, the process can be difficult to study because it proceeds differently among groups and may occur over long timescales. Due to this complexity, we typically rely on generalizations of empirical data to describe and understand the process. Previous reviews of reproductive isolation (RI) in flowering plants have suggested that prezygotic or extrinsic barriers generally have a stronger effect on reducing gene flow compared to postzygotic or intrinsic barriers. Past conclusions have rested on relatively few empirical estimates of RI; however, RI data have become increasingly abundant over the past

SUBMITTER: Christie K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9796645 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature