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Dryad

Data from: Is floral divergence sufficient to maintain species boundaries upon secondary contact in Mediterranean food-deceptive orchids?

Cite this dataset

Scopece, Giovanni et al. (2011). Data from: Is floral divergence sufficient to maintain species boundaries upon secondary contact in Mediterranean food-deceptive orchids? [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7pd8q

Abstract

Analysing the processes that determine whether species boundaries are maintained upon secondary contact may shed light on the early phase of speciation. In Anacamptis morio and A. longicornu, two Mediterranean orchid sister-species, we used molecular and morphological analyses, together with estimates of pollination success and experimental crosses, to assess whether floral isolation can shelter the species' genomes from genetic admixture upon secondary contact. We found substantial genetic and morphological homogenization in sympatric populations in combination with an apparent lack of postmating isolation. We further detected asymmetric introgression in the sympatric populations and an imbalance in cytotype representation, which may be due either to a difference in flowering phenology or else be a consequence of cytonuclear incompatibilities. Estimates of genetic clines for markers across sympatric zones revealed markers that significantly deviated from neutral expectations. We observed a significant correlation between spur length and reproductive success in sympatric populations, which may suggest that directional selection is the main cause of morphological differentiation in this species pair. Our results suggest that allopatric divergence has not led to the evolution of sufficient reproductive isolation to prevent genomic admixture upon secondary contact in this orchid species pair.

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