Cryptic hybridization between the ancient lineages of Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri)
2024
Authors:
Josić, DarijaÇoraman, Emrah
Waurick, Isabelle
Franzenburg, Sören
Ancillotto, Leonardo
Bajić, Branka
Budinski, Ivana
Dietz, Christian
Görföl, Tamás
Hayden Bofill, Sofia I
Presetnik, Primož
Russo, Danilo
Spada, Martina
Zrnčić, Vida
Blom, Mozes PK
Mayer, Frieder
Document Type:
Article (Published version)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract:
Studying hybrid zones that form between morphologically cryptic taxa offers valuable
insights into the mechanisms of cryptic speciation and the evolution of reproductive
barriers. Although hybrid zones have long been the focus of evolutionary studies, the
awareness of cryptic hybrid zones increased recently due to rapidly growing evidence
of biological diversity lacking obvious phenotypic differentiation. The characterization
of cryptic hybrid zones with genome-wide analysis is in its early stages and offers new
perspectives for studying population admixture and thus the impact of gene flow. In
this study, we investigate the population genomics of the Myotis nattereri complex
in one of its secondary contact zones, where a putative hybrid zone is formed
between two of its cryptic lineages. By utilizing a whole-genome shotgun sequencing approach, we aim to characterize this cryptic hybrid zone in detail. Demographic analysis suggests that the cryptic lineages diverged during the Pliocene, c. 3.6 million years ago. Despite this ancient separation, the populations in the contact zone exhibit mitochondrial introgression and a considerable amount of mixing in nuclear genomes. The genomic structure of the populations corresponds to geographic locations and the genomic admixture changes along a geographic gradient. These findings suggest that there is no effective hybridization barrier between both lineages, nevertheless, their population structure is shaped by dispersal barriers. Our findings highlight how such deeply diverged cryptic lineages can still readily hybridize in secondary contact.
Keywords:
bats; introgression; secondary contact; speciationSource:
Molecular Ecology, 2024, 33, 13, e17411-Funding / projects:
- National Research, Development, and Innovation Fund of Hungary, Grant/ Award Number: NKFIH FK137778
- National Research, Development, and Innovation Fund of Hungary, Grant/ Award Number: RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00010
- János Bolyai Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Grant/Award Number: BO/00825/21
- Elsa-Neumann-Scholarship; Leibniz Association, Grant/Award Number: K309/2020
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: 407495230
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Grant/Award Number: 423957469
DOI: 10.1111/mec.17411
ISSN: 0962-1083
PubMed: 38785347