scholarly journals Recombination-aware phylogenomics unravels the complex divergence of hybridizing species.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Li ◽  
Henrique V. Figueiro ◽  
Eduardo Eizirik ◽  
William J. Murphy

Current phylogenomic approaches implicitly assume that the predominant phylogenetic signal within a genome reflects the true evolutionary history of organisms, without assessing the confounding effects of gene flow that result in a mosaic of phylogenetic signals that interact with recombinational variation. Here we tested the validity of this assumption with a recombination-aware analysis of whole genome sequences from 27 species of the cat family. We found that the prevailing phylogenetic signal within the autosomes is not always representative of speciation history, due to ancient hybridization throughout felid evolution. Instead, phylogenetic signal was concentrated within large, conserved X-chromosome recombination deserts that exhibited recurrent patterns of strong genetic differentiation and selective sweeps across mammalian orders. By contrast, regions of high recombination were enriched for signatures of ancient gene flow, and these sequences inflated crown-lineage divergence times by ~40%. We conclude that standard phylogenomic approaches to infer the Tree of Life may be highly misleading without considering the genomic partitioning of phylogenetic signal relative to recombination rate, and its interplay with historical hybridization.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine L Korunes ◽  
Carlos A Machado ◽  
Mohamed AF Noor

AbstractBy shaping meiotic recombination, chromosomal inversions can influence genetic exchange between hybridizing species. Despite the recognized importance of inversions in evolutionary processes such as divergence and speciation, teasing apart the effects of inversions over time remains challenging. For example, are their effects on sequence divergence primarily generated through creating blocks of linkage-disequilibrium pre-speciation or through preventing gene flux after speciation? We provide a comprehensive look into the influence of chromosomal inversions on gene flow throughout the evolutionary history of a classic system: Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis. We use extensive whole-genome sequence data to report patterns of introgression and divergence with respect to chromosomal arrangements. Overall, we find evidence that inversions have contributed to divergence patterns between Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis over three distinct timescales: 1) pre-speciation segregation of ancestral polymorphism, 2) post-speciation ancient gene flow, and 3) recent gene flow. We discuss these results in terms of our understanding of evolution in this classic system and provide cautions for interpreting divergence measures in similar datasets in other systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2111-2126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Li ◽  
Henrique V Figueiró ◽  
Eduardo Eizirik ◽  
William J Murphy

Abstract Current phylogenomic approaches implicitly assume that the predominant phylogenetic signal within a genome reflects the true evolutionary history of organisms, without assessing the confounding effects of postspeciation gene flow that can produce a mosaic of phylogenetic signals that interact with recombinational variation. Here, we tested the validity of this assumption with a phylogenomic analysis of 27 species of the cat family, assessing local effects of recombination rate on species tree inference and divergence time estimation across their genomes. We found that the prevailing phylogenetic signal within the autosomes is not always representative of the most probable speciation history, due to ancient hybridization throughout felid evolution. Instead, phylogenetic signal was concentrated within regions of low recombination, and notably enriched within large X chromosome recombination cold spots that exhibited recurrent patterns of strong genetic differentiation and selective sweeps across mammalian orders. By contrast, regions of high recombination were enriched for signatures of ancient gene flow, and these sequences inflated crown-lineage divergence times by ∼40%. We conclude that existing phylogenomic approaches to infer the Tree of Life may be highly misleading without considering the genomic architecture of phylogenetic signal relative to recombination rate and its interplay with historical hybridization.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huashui Ai ◽  
Jun Ren ◽  
Junwu Ma ◽  
Zhiyan Zhang ◽  
Wanbo Li ◽  
...  

AbstractThe genetics and evolution of sex chromosomes are largely distinct from autosomes and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The Y chromosome offers unique genetic perspective on male-line inheritance. Here, we uncover novel evolutionary history of Sus scrofa based on 205 high-quality genomes from worldwide-distributed different wild boars and domestic pig breeds. We find that only two haplotypes exist in the distal and proximal blocks of at least 7.7 Mb on chromosome Y in pigs across European and Asian continents. And the times of most recent common ancestors (TMRCA) within both haplotypes, approximately 0.14 and 0.10 million years, are far smaller than their divergence time of around 1.07 million years. What’s more, the relationship between Sumatran and Eurasian continent Sus scrofa is much closer than that we knew before. And surprisingly, European pigs share the same haplotype with many Chinese pigs, which is not consistent with their deep splitting status on autosome and mtDNA. Further analyses show that the haplotype in Chinese pigs was likely introduced from European wild boars via ancient gene flow before pig domestication about 24k years ago. Low mutation rates and no recombination in the distal and proximal blocks on chromosome Y help us detect this male-driven ancient gene flow. Taken together, our results update the knowledge of pig demography and evolution, and might shed insight into the genetics and evolution studies on chromosome Y in other mammals.


Heredity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael S. Rodger ◽  
Alexandra Pavlova ◽  
Steve Sinclair ◽  
Melinda Pickup ◽  
Paul Sunnucks

AbstractConservation management can be aided by knowledge of genetic diversity and evolutionary history, so that ecological and evolutionary processes can be preserved. The Button Wrinklewort daisy (Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides) was a common component of grassy ecosystems in south-eastern Australia. It is now endangered due to extensive habitat loss and the impacts of livestock grazing, and is currently restricted to a few small populations in two regions >500 km apart, one in Victoria, the other in the Australian Capital Territory and nearby New South Wales (ACT/NSW). Using a genome-wide SNP dataset, we assessed patterns of genetic structure and genetic differentiation of 12 natural diploid populations. We estimated intrapopulation genetic diversity to scope sources for genetic management. Bayesian clustering and principal coordinate analyses showed strong population genetic differentiation between the two regions, and substantial substructure within ACT/NSW. A coalescent tree-building approach implemented in SNAPP indicated evolutionary divergence between the two distant regions. Among the populations screened, the last two known remaining Victorian populations had the highest genetic diversity, despite having among the lowest recent census sizes. A maximum likelihood population tree method implemented in TreeMix suggested little or no recent gene flow except potentially between very close neighbours. Populations that were more genetically distinctive had lower genetic diversity, suggesting that drift in isolation is likely driving population differentiation though loss of diversity, hence re-establishing gene flow among them is desirable. These results provide background knowledge for evidence-based conservation and support genetic rescue within and between regions to elevate genetic diversity and alleviate inbreeding.


Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 373 (6556) ◽  
pp. 792-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. Strother ◽  
Clinton Foster

Molecular time trees indicating that embryophytes originated around 500 million years ago (Ma) during the Cambrian are at odds with the record of fossil plants, which first appear in the mid-Silurian almost 80 million years later. This time gap has been attributed to a missing fossil plant record, but that attribution belies the case for fossil spores. Here, we describe a Tremadocian (Early Ordovician, about 480 Ma) assemblage with elements of both Cambrian and younger embryophyte spores that provides a new level of evolutionary continuity between embryophytes and their algal ancestors. This finding suggests that the molecular phylogenetic signal retains a latent evolutionary history of the acquisition of the embryophytic developmental genome, a history that perhaps began during Ediacaran-Cambrian time but was not completed until the mid-Silurian (about 430 Ma).


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Kumar ◽  
Fritjof Lammers ◽  
Tobias Bidon ◽  
Markus Pfenninger ◽  
Lydia Kolter ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas Kumar ◽  
Fritjof Lammers ◽  
Tobias Bidon ◽  
Markus Pfenninger ◽  
Lydia Kolter ◽  
...  

AbstractBears are iconic mammals with a complex evolutionary history. Natural bear hybrids and studies of few nuclear genes indicate that gene flow among bears may be more common than expected and not limited to the closely related polar and brown bears. Here we present a genome analysis of the bear family with representatives of all living species. Phylogenomic analyses of 869 mega base pairs divided into 18,621 genome fragments yielded a well-resolved coalescent species tree despite signals for extensive gene flow across species. However, genome analyses using three different statistical methods show that gene flow is not limited to closely related species pairs. Strong ancestral gene flow between the Asiatic black bear and the ancestor to polar, brown and American black bear explains numerous uncertainties in reconstructing the bear phylogeny. Gene flow across the bear clade may be mediated by intermediate species such as the geographically wide-spread brown bears leading to massive amounts of phylogenetic conflict. Genome-scale analyses lead to a more complete understanding of complex evolutionary processes. The increasing evidence for extensive inter-specific gene flow, found also in other animal species, necessitates shifting the attention from speciation processes achieving genome-wide reproductive isolation to the selective processes that maintain species divergence in the face of gene flow.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Peyrégne ◽  
Janet Kelso ◽  
Benjamin Marco Peter ◽  
Svante Pääbo

Proteins associated with the spindle apparatus, a cytoskeletal structure that ensures the proper segregation of chromosomes during cell division, experienced an unusual number of amino acid substitutions in modern humans after the split from the ancestors of Neandertals and Denisovans. Here, we analyze the history of these substitutions and show that some of the genes in which they occur may have been targets of positive selection. We also find that the two changes in the kinetochore scaffold 1 (KNL1) protein, previously believed to be specific to modern humans, were present in some Neandertals. We show that the KNL1 gene of these Neandertals shared a common ancestor with present-day Africans about 200,000 years ago due to gene flow from the ancestors (or relatives) of modern humans into Neandertals. Subsequently, some non-Africans inherited this modern human-like gene variant from Neandertals, but none inherited the ancestral gene variants. These results add to the growing evidence of early contacts between modern humans and archaic groups in Eurasia and illustrate the intricate relationships among these groups.


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