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Dryad

Assessing gene flow between Dicranum scoparium Hedw. and D. bonjeanii De Not. (Dicranaceae) using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)

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Nov 21, 2024 version files 68.22 KB

Abstract

While hybridization in vascular plants has received considerable attention, hybridization in bryophytes is still relatively understudied. Here we investigate hybridization between two species from the moss genus Dicranum. Hedw. Dicranum scoparium Hedw. and D. bonjeanii De Not. are two moss species of the D. scoparium species complex with partially overlapping morphology and habitat ranges. This study aimed to investigate a potential hybridization pathway between the two species by using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), morphologically identifying the sex of the specimens and analyzing potential sex-specific SNP-markers, focusing on southern Sweden. The species differ by D. scoparium being polymorphic and D. bonjeanii monomorphic for the used SNP-markers. The SNP-markers genetically separate D. scoparium and D. bonjeanii specimens, though admixture between the species was observed on a limited scale. This admixture appears to originate from unidirectional fertilization of D. bonjeanii by D. scoparium (with a genome skewed towards D. scoparium as a result), possibly followed by back-crossing of first-generation hybrids with D. scoparium. Male expressing specimens were completely absent in the D. bonjeanii sample, making a fertilization of D. bonjeanii by males of D. scoparium more likely. No sex-specificity was observed in the used SNP-markers.