Evolution of a hybrid zone of two willow species (Salix L.) in the European Alps analyzed by RAD-seq and morphometrics.

ABSTRACT: Natural hybridization of plants can result in many outcomes with several evolutionary consequences, such as hybrid speciation and introgression. Natural hybrid zones can arise in mountain systems as a result of fluctuating climate during the exchange of glacial and interglacial periods, where species retract and expand their territories, resulting in secondary contacts. Willows are a large genus of woody plants with an immense capability of interspecific crossing. In this study, the sympatric area of two diploid sister species, S. foetida and S. waldsteiniana in the eastern European Alps, was investigated to study the genomic structure of populations within and outside their contact zone and to analyze congruence of morphological phenotypes with genetic data. Eleven populatio

SUBMITTER: Marincek P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9811612 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature