Sympatric Speciation of Wild Emmer Wheat Driven by Ecology and Chromosomal Rearrangements

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Sympatric Speciation of Wild Emmer Wheat Driven by Ecology and Chromosomal Rearrangements Sympatric speciation of wild emmer wheat driven by ecology and chromosomal rearrangements Hongwei Wanga,1,2, Huayan Yinb,1, Chengzhi Jiaoc,1, Xiaojian Fanga,1, Guiping Wanga,1, Guangrong Lid, Fei Nia, Penghuan Lia, Peisen Sua, Wenyang Gea, Zhongfan Lyua, Shoushen Xua, Yanhong Yanga, Yongchao Haoa, Xinxin Chenga, Jinxiao Zhaoa, Cheng Liua,3, Fengfeng Xuc, Xin Maa, Silong Suna, Yan Zhaoa, Yinguang Baoa, Cheng Liue,4, Jingjing Zhangf, Tomas Pavlicekg, Anfei Lia, Zujun Yangd,1,2, Eviatar Nevog,2, and Lingrang Konga,2 aState Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, 271018 Tai’an, China; bCollege of Agronomy, Qingdao Agricultural University, 266109 Qingdao, China; cNovogene Bioinformatics Institute, 100083 Beijing, China; dCenter for Informational Biology, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610054 Chengdu, China; eCrop Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 250100 Jinan, China; fSchool of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; and gInstitute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel Contributed by Eviatar Nevo, December 27, 2019 (sent for review November 26, 2019; reviewed by Eugene V. Koonin, James Shapiro, and Alan Robert Templeton) In plants, the mechanism for ecological sympatric speciation (SS) is nature by the examples in animals (e.g., resource competition, little known. Here, after ruling out the possibility of secondary assortative mating, etc.) (5, 7, 8). In plants, which are stressed contact, we show that wild emmer wheat, at the microclimatically constantly by a diversity of biotic and abiotic stresses, ecological divergent microsite of “Evolution Canyon” (EC), Mt. Carmel, Israel, divergence was presumed essential in driving speciation. How- underwent triple SS. Initially, it split following a bottleneck of an ever, accepted examples of ecological SS are still limited in ancestral population, and further diversified to three isolated pop- plants, and evolutionary mechanisms for such speciation have ulations driven by disruptive ecological selection. Remarkably, two not been well established. One compelling case is that of sister postzygotically isolated populations (SFS1 and SFS2) sympatrically species of palm (Howea) that seem to have split on a tiny iso- branched within an area less than 30 m at the tropical hot and dry lated island in the Tasman Sea, possibly driven by divergent soil savannoid south-facing slope (SFS). A series of homozygous chro- preference, yet any underlying cellular and genetic mechanisms mosomal rearrangements in the SFS1 population caused hybrid associated with this split have not been demonstrated (9). EVOLUTION sterility with the SFS2 population. We demonstrate that these two populations developed divergent adaptive mechanisms against Significance severe abiotic stresses on the tropical SFS. The SFS2 population evolved very early flowering, while the SFS1 population alterna- In plants, which are stressed constantly by diverse abiotic and tively evolved a direct tolerance to irradiance by improved ROS biotic stresses, ecological divergence is substantial in driving scavenging activity that potentially accounts for its evolutionary speciation, yet its demonstration under sympatry is still limited fate with unstable chromosome status. Moreover, a third prezygoti- in plants and needs elaboration. By analyzing wild emmer cally isolated sympatric population adapted on the abutting tem- wheat at the Evolution Canyon microsite, a hot spot of sym- perate, humid, cool, and forested north-facing slope (NFS), patric speciation, we highlighted how disruptive ecological separated by 250 m from the SFS wild emmer wheat populations. selection drives primary sympatric speciation in situ. Natural The NFS population evolved multiple resistant loci to fungal dis- selection, overruling the homogenizing effects of gene flow, eases, including powdery mildew and stripe rust. Our study illus- split the metapopulation of wild emmer wheat into three re- trates how plants sympatrically adapt and speciate under disruptive productively isolated populations. Each population evolved ecological selection of abiotic and biotic stresses. unique evolutionary trajectory with divergent adaptive strat- egies, including fungal disease resistance, irradiance tolerance, sympatric speciation | wild emmer wheat | Robertsonian translocation | and divergent flowering time. Our work provides a model for abiotic stress | biotic stress plant adaptive ecological sympatric speciation under biotic and abiotic stressors. nderstanding the mechanisms underlying speciation, the Usplitting of a group of interbreeding populations into two Author contributions: H.W., E.N., and L.K. designed research; H.Y., G.W., G.L., P.L., P.S., reproductively isolated groups, has been a major focus of evo- W.G., Z.L., S.X., Y.Y., Y.H., X.C., J. Zhao, C.L.3, X.M., Y.B., A.L., and Z.Y. performed research; 4 lutionary biology (1). In the widespread process known as C.L. , J. Zhang, and T.P. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; C.J., X.F., F.N., F.X., S.S., and Y.Z. analyzed data; and H.W. wrote the paper. “allopatric speciation,” populations that become geographically Reviewers: E.V.K., National Institutes of Health; J.S., University of Chicago; and A.R.T., isolated experience selective pressures and/or genetic drift that Washington University in St. Louis. ultimately give rise to two reproductively isolated new species (2). The authors declare no competing interest. In contrast, there are dramatically fewer known instances of spe- ciation occurring without geographical isolation, a concept known Published under the PNAS license. as sympatric speciation (SS) proposed by Darwin (2–4). It is Data deposition: The resequencing and SNP data generated in this work are deposited in the Genome Sequence Archive in the BIG Data Center, Beijing Institute of Genomics, generally agreed that an instance of SS must be substantiated with Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the accession no. CRA001873. evidence showing that the relevant species occur in the same 1H.W., H.Y., C.J., X.F., G.W., and Z.Y. contributed equally to this work. geographic location, are in reproductive isolation, and display a 2To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: [email protected], sister relationship (3). Claims of SS are bolstered by evidence that [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. any earlier periods of allopatric speciation are unlikely (5). Major 3State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Col- questions about SS typically center on how reproductive isolation lege of Agronomy, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, 271018 Shandong, China. has arisen in sympatry and on the nature of the selection pressures 4Crop Research Institute, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 250100 Jinan, and genetic drift that has driven the speciation (6). China. An increasing number of mathematical models have been This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/ established to sustain the plausibility of SS, often including the doi:10.1073/pnas.1920415117/-/DCSupplemental. influence of disruptive selection that is particularly validated in www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1920415117 PNAS Latest Articles | 1of9 Downloaded by guest on September 27, 2021 Guided by the widely held speculation that divergent selection incipient SS is under way at EC-I between populations present via microcosmic ecological differences are likely essential in fa- on the SFS or NFS. cilitating SS, a long-term research project since 1990 in Israel has Here, seeking to apply modern genome-scale technologies to enabled tracking of evolutionary histories at a microscale by examine potential speciation events in tetraploid wheat pop- designating four natural laboratories: the so-called “Evolution ulations at EC-I, we collected 47 accessions of wild emmer wheat Canyon” microsites (EC-I to EC-IV). At each of these EC sites, (Triticum dicoccoides Koern), the progenitor of bread wheat, there are sharp ecological contrasts within minuscule interslope from EC-I. Using genomics, cytogenetics, analysis of hybrid distances (6). The EC-I microsite comprises twin slopes with sterility patterns, and both observational and hypothesis-driven extremely sharp ecological contrasts: the south-facing slope confirmatory studies addressing observed divergence for eco- (SFS) and north-facing slope (NFS) are only separated by an logically important traits, we assessed the possibility of SS of wild average of 250 m, but the SFS receives 200 to 800% higher solar emmer wheat at EC-I. radiation than the NFS, resulting in a substantially hotter and Results drier slope (Fig. 1A). In contrast, the higher relative humidity Three Distinct Populations of Wild Emmer Wheat Have Diverged and reduced solar radiation of the NFS results in cooler and within EC-I following a Recent Population Bottleneck. To apply wetter conditions (10). These dramatic differences in microcli- modern high-resolution genetic analysis methods to the excep- mates in extremely close proximity have enabled very high spatial tionally diverse populations of species known to exist at the EC-I resolution studies unfolding the influence of environmental site, we collected 47 accessions from the tropical hot and dry gradients on fitness-related phenotypic traits, and
Recommended publications
  • Sympatric Speciation: Models and Empirical Evidence
    ANRV328-ES38-19 ARI 24 September 2007 7:20 Sympatric Speciation: Models and Empirical Evidence Daniel I. Bolnick1 and Benjamin M. Fitzpatrick2 1Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712; email: [email protected] 2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996; email: benfi[email protected] Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2007. 38:459–87 Key Words First published online as a Review in Advance on assortative mating, disruptive selection, reinforcement August 8, 2007 reproductive isolation The Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics is online at Abstract http://ecolsys.annualreviews.org Sympatric speciation, the evolution of reproductive isolation with- This article’s doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.38.091206.095804 out geographic barriers, remains highly contentious. As a result of new empirical examples and theory, it is now generally accepted that Copyright c 2007 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved sympatric speciation has occurred in at least a few instances, and is theoretically plausible. Instead, debate has shifted to whether sym- by Rutgers University Libraries on 09/21/09. For personal use only. 1543-592X/07/1201-0459$20.00 patric speciation is common, and whether models’ assumptions are generally met in nature. The relative frequency of sympatric spe- ciation will be difficult to resolve, because biogeographic changes have obscured geographical patterns underlying many past specia- Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2007.38:459-487. Downloaded from arjournals.annualreviews.org tion events. In contrast, progress is being made on evaluating the empirical validity of key theoretical conditions for sympatric spe- ciation. Disruptive selection and direct selection on mating traits, which should facilitate sympatric speciation, are biologically well supported.
    [Show full text]
  • Sympatric Speciation in Ants
    When houseguests become parasites: Sympatric speciation in ants Stewart H. Berlocher* Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 pecies are part of the common related species, and we are finally, if still argue that sympatric speciation was not coinage of biology. Taxonomists dimly, seeing some of the specific genes limited to a handful of special cases, but name them, developmental biolo- that underlie reproductive isolation (3). was quite common. Bush was driven to gists deconstruct them, physiolo- But fundamental questions remain his stance by the observation that one S unanswered. A critical question is how gists compare them, ecologists count could find many groups of closely re- them, conservation biologists conserve reproductive isolation could evolve in lated, sympatric species that use differ- them, and evolutionary biologists study the face of gene flow; random mating ent ecological niches. Conspicuous their multiplication and extinction. It within a population and gene flow be- among these groups are parasites of ani- may be that only the individual is a tween neighboring populations are enor- mals and plants, which are often highly more important biological unit than the mously powerful homogenizing forces. specialized ecologically and frequently species. It is thus no surprise that Dar- How could selection tear a single popu- mate on the host, a factor that poten- win named his great work On the Origin lation into two reproductively isolated tially links any adaptation to a new host of Species, nor is it a surprise that many with a reduction in gene flow between evolutionary biologists today concen- the new and ancestral populations.
    [Show full text]
  • Allopatric Speciation
    Lecture 21 Speciation “These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species — that mystery of mysteries”. C. Darwin – The Origin What is speciation? • in Darwin’s words, speciation is the “multiplication of species”. What is speciation? • in Darwin’s words, speciation is the “multiplication of species”. • according to the BSC, speciation occurs when populations evolve reproductive isolating mechanisms. What is speciation? • in Darwin’s words, speciation is the “multiplication of species”. • according to the BSC, speciation occurs when populations evolve reproductive isolating mechanisms. • these barriers may act to prevent fertilization – this is prezygotic isolation. What is speciation? • in Darwin’s words, speciation is the “multiplication of species”. • according to the BSC, speciation occurs when populations evolve reproductive isolating mechanisms. • these barriers may act to prevent fertilization – this is prezygotic isolation. • may involve changes in location or timing of breeding, or courtship. What is speciation? • in Darwin’s words, speciation is the “multiplication of species”. • according to the BSC, speciation occurs when populations evolve reproductive isolating mechanisms. • these barriers may act to prevent fertilization – this is prezygotic isolation. • may involve changes in location or timing of breeding, or courtship. • barriers also occur if hybrids are inviable or sterile – this is postzygotic isolation. Modes of Speciation Modes of Speciation 1. Allopatric speciation 2. Peripatric speciation 3. Parapatric speciation 4. Sympatric speciation Modes of Speciation 1. Allopatric speciation 2. Peripatric speciation 3. Parapatric speciation 4. Sympatric speciation Modes of Speciation 1. Allopatric speciation Allopatric Speciation ‘‘The phenomenon of disjunction, or complete geographic isolation, is of considerable interest because it is almost universally believed to be a fundamental requirement for speciation.’’ Endler (1977) Modes of Speciation 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Sympatric Speciation As a Consequence of Male Pregnancy in Seahorses
    Sympatric speciation as a consequence of male pregnancy in seahorses Adam G. Jones†‡, Glenn I. Moore§, Charlotta Kvarnemo¶, DeEtte Walkerʈ, and John C. Aviseʈ †School of Biology, 310 Ferst Drive, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332; §Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia; ¶Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; and ʈDepartment of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 Contributed by John C. Avise, April 4, 2003 The phenomenon of male pregnancy in the family Syngnathidae where he fertilizes them and enjoys complete confidence of pater- (seahorses, pipefishes, and sea dragons) undeniably has sculpted nity (21, 22). Because seahorses are monogamous (20, 22–25), the course of behavioral evolution in these fishes. Here we explore individuals of both sexes must place a high premium on finding a another potentially important but previously unrecognized conse- partner with a similar reproductive capacity. Otherwise, eggs or quence of male pregnancy: a predisposition for sympatric specia- brood pouch space will be wasted. Reproductive output is positively tion. We present microsatellite data on genetic parentage that correlated with size for both sexes (20), and selection therefore show that seahorses mate size-assortatively in nature. We then favors size-assortative mating. Our goal was to evaluate the poten- develop a quantitative genetic model based on these empirical tial importance of assortative mating to the evolutionary legacy of findings to demonstrate that sympatric speciation indeed can occur this group. Specifically, our approaches were to (i) document under this mating regime in response to weak disruptive selection genetically that assortative pairing by similarly sized adults underlies on body size.
    [Show full text]
  • Biology 3 Origin and Diversity of Life
    Biology 3 Origin and Diversity of Life Dr. Terence Lee What is Life? Virus? Ice Crystal? 1 What is necessary for Life? CONDITIONS ON EARTH AT THE TIME LIFE BEGAN The early atmosphere differed from that of today, and contained large amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, methane, ammonia, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide. Small organic molecules eventually formed, providing the building blocks of life. THE UREY-MILLER EXPERIMENT In 1953, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey developed a simple four- step experiment that demonstrated how complex organic molecules could have arisen in earth’s early environment. 2 THE UREY-MILLER EXPERIMENT 1 They created a model of the chemicals present in the "warm little pond" and atmosphere early in earth's history: H 2, CH 4 (methane), and NH 3 (ammonia). 2 The atmosphere was subjected to sparks, to simulate lightning. 3 The atmosphere was cooled so that any compounds in it would rain back down into the water. 4 They examined the water, looking for organic molecules. Electrical charge 2 1 3 Cool 4 Heat Within a matter of days they discovered many organic molecules (including five different amino acids) in their primordial sea. RNA World Hypothesis • The world may have been filled with RNA- based life… 3 Why are cell membranes important? • Allow for higher concentrations of chemicals inside the cell relative to the outside. WHAT MAKES A SPECIES? SPECIES ARE • populations of organisms that interbreed with each other, • or could possibly breed, under natural conditions, • and are reproductively isolated from other such groups. Reproductive Isolation • Hybrids are bad. 4 Reproductive Isolation • Two ways to prevent hybrids: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Adaptive Speciation
    Adaptive Speciation Edited by Ulf Dieckmann, Michael Doebeli, Johan A.J. Metz, and Diethard Tautz PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http: //www.cambridge.org c International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis 2004 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. http://www.iiasa.ac.at First published 2004 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge Typefaces Times; Zapf Humanist 601 (Bitstream Inc.) System LATEX A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 521 82842 2 hardback Contents Contributing Authors xi Acknowledgments xiii Notational Standards xiv 1 Introduction 1 Ulf Dieckmann, Johan A.J. Metz, Michael Doebeli, and Diethard Tautz 1.1 AShiftinFocus............................... 1 1.2 AdaptiveSpeciation............................. 2 1.3 AdaptiveSpeciationinContext....................... 6 1.4 SpeciesCriteria................................ 9 1.5 RoutesofAdaptiveSpeciation.......................
    [Show full text]
  • On the Origin of Species by Sympatric Speciation
    letters to nature population into two. Fortunately, the hypergeometic phenotypic model7–9 is 21. Turner, G. F. & Burrows, M. T. A model of sympatric speciation by sexual selection. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. 10 B 260, 287–292 (1995). applicable under the conditions required for sympatric speciation . For a 22. Galis, F. & Metz, J. A. J. Why are there so many cichlid species? Trends Ecol. Evol. 13, 1–2 (1998). quantitative trait with the possible phenotypes 0, 1, …, n, this model provides, 23. van Doorn, G. S., Noest, A. J. & Hogeweg, P. Sympatric speciation and extinction driven by as a sum of certain hypergeometric functions, the probability Rði; j; kÞ of environment dependent sexual selection. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 265, 1915–1919 (1998). 24. Axelrod, H. R. The Most Complete Colored Lexicon of Cichlids (TFH Publications, Neptune City, 1996). two parents with phenotypes i and j producing an offspring with phenotype 25. Seehausen, O., van Alphen, J. J. M. & Witte, F. Cichlid fish diversity threatened by eutrophication that k (refs 8–10). curbs sexual selection. Science 277, 1808–1811 (1997). 26. Seehausen, O. & van Alphen, J. J. M. The effect of male coloration on female mate choice in closely Implementation of the model. We considered haploid individuals with the related Lake Victoria cichlids (Haplochromis nyererei complex). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 42, 1–8 (1998). phenotype in their m-th trait determined by the number of alleles 1 at the nm 27. Lewontin, R. C., Kirk, D. & Crow, J. F. Selective mating, assortative mating and inbreding: definitions and implications. Eugen. Quart. 15, 141–143 (1966).
    [Show full text]
  • The Plausibility of Allochronic Speciation
    The plausibility of allochronic speciation. This bachelor thesis was written following up the Chronobiology Research Course. Bachelor thesis Author: Jens Schepers Student number: 2338858 Supervisor: Prof. Roelof A. Hut Date: 22 October 2015 Chronobiology Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RUG) 1 Abstract The role of allochronic speciation has long time been controversial. Yet divergence of timing in yearly, seasonal and daily routines of organisms can have great impact on reproductive timing and therefore finding a suitable partner. In this thesis the basic forms of speciation will be further outlined before reviewing literature on allochronic speciation in plants, allochronic speciation in animals and the involvement of circadian rhythms in allochronic speciation. Furthermore, the overall plausibility of allochrony and its prerequisites will be discussed. The review of literature indicates allochronic speciation is an overlooked form of speciation with a lot of potential, yet unfortunately the exact mechanisms behind driven allochrony remain unclear. Therefore, future research should focus towards getting a better understanding of those mechanisms behind driving allochrony. 2 Table of contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Allochrony in plants ..............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 10 Speciation and Macroevolution Anya Plutynski
    Chapter 10 Speciation and Macroevolution anya plutynski 1. Introduction Speciation is the process by which one or more species1 arises from a common ancestor, and “macroevolution” refers to patterns and processes at and above the species level – or, transitions in higher taxa, such as new families, phyla, or genera. “Macroevolution” is contrasted with “microevolution,”2 evolutionary change within populations, due to migration, selection, mutation, and drift. During the 1930s and 40s, Haldane (1932), Dobzhansky (1937), Mayr (1942), and Simpson (1944) argued that the origin of species and higher taxa were, given the right environmental conditions and suffi cient time, the product of the same microevolutionary factors causing change within populations. Dobzhansky reviewed the evidence from genetics, and argued, “nothing in the known macroevolutionary phenomena would require other than the known genetic principles for causal explanation” (Dobzhansky, 1951, p.17). In sum, genetic variation between species was not different in kind from the genetic variation within species. Dobzhansky concluded that one may “reluctantly put an equal sign” between micro- and macroevolution. This view was not accepted by all, however. Richard Goldschmidt, for instance, argued that microevolution does not, by the sheer accumulation of small, adaptive changes, lead to novel species. In his words, “the facts of microevolution do not suffi ce for macroevolution” (Goldschmidt, 1940, p.8). Goldschmidt’s position was regarded by many during the synthesis as implausible. However, similar arguments, questioning the suffi ciency of microevolutionary pro- cesses for macroevolutionary change, were offered up at different stages subsequent to the 1940s. In this same vein but based on very different arguments, Gould and Eldredge (1977) argued that there are causal processes operating at and above the species level which are not reducible to, or explainable in terms of, change within populations.
    [Show full text]
  • Niche and Range Size Patterns Suggest That Speciation Begins in Small, Ecologically Diverged Populations in North American Monkeyflowers (Mimulus Spp.)
    ORIGINAL ARTICLE doi:10.1111/evo.12355 NICHE AND RANGE SIZE PATTERNS SUGGEST THAT SPECIATION BEGINS IN SMALL, ECOLOGICALLY DIVERGED POPULATIONS IN NORTH AMERICAN MONKEYFLOWERS (MIMULUS SPP.) Dena L. Grossenbacher,1,2 Samuel D. Veloz,3 and Jason P. Sexton4 1Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California 95616 2E-mail: [email protected] 3PRBO Conservation Science, Petaluma, California 94954 4School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, California 95343 Received June 19, 2013 Accepted December 16, 2013 Closely related species (e.g., sister taxa) often occupy very different ecological niches and can exhibit large differences in geographic distributions despite their shared evolutionary history. Budding speciation is one process that may partially explain how differences in niche and distribution characteristics may rapidly evolve. Budding speciation is the process through which new species form as initially small colonizing populations that acquire reproductive isolation. This mode of species formation predicts that, at the time of speciation, sister species should have highly asymmetrical distributions. We tested this hypothesis in North American monkeyflowers, a diverse clade with a robust phylogeny, using data on geographical ranges, climate, and plant community attributes. We found that recently diverged sister pairs have highly asymmetrical ranges and niche breadths, relative to older sister pairs. Additionally, we found that sister species occupy distinct environmental niche positions, and that 80% of sister species have completely or partially overlapping distributions (i.e., are broadly sympatric). Together, these results suggest that budding speciation has occurred frequently in Mimulus, that it has likely taken place both inside the range and on the range periphery, and that observed divergences in habitat and resource use could be associated with speciation in small populations.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution Lesson 8.4: Macroevolution and the Origin of Species Lesson
    Chapter 8: Evolution Lesson 8.4: Macroevolution and the Origin of Species Fast or slow? Which is better, the direct route or the scenic route? Each has its advantages, depending on the situation. And that describes evolution. It can be fast or slow, depending on the situation. Lesson Objectives • Describe two ways that new species may originate. • Differentiate between allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric speciation. • Identify the different patterns of macroevolution • Distinguish between gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. • Understand the concept of extinction and how it affects evolution. Vocabulary • allopatric speciation • behavioral isolation • coevolution • convergent evolution • divergent evolution • geographic isolation • gradualism • parapatric speciation • peripatric speciation • punctuated equilibrium • speciation • sympatric speciation • temporal isolation Introduction Macroevolution is evolution over geologic time above the level of the species. One of the main topics in macroevolution is how new species arise. The process by which a new species evolves is called speciation. How does speciation occur? How does one species evolve into two or more new species? 275 Origin of Species To understand how a new species forms, it’s important to review what a species is. A species is a group of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring together in nature. For a new species to arise, some members of a species must become reproductively isolated from the rest of the species. This means they can no longer interbreed with other members of the species. How does this happen? Usually they become geographically isolated first. The macroevolution of a species happens as a result of speciation. Speciation is the branching off of individuals from the species they originally were.
    [Show full text]
  • Alternative Adaptations, Speciation, and Phylogeny
    Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 83, pp. 1388-1392, March 1986 Evolution Alternative adaptations, speciation, and phylogeny (A Review) (polymorphism/epigenetlc plasticity/macroevolutlon/punctuated equilibria/regulatory evolution) MARY JANE WEST-EBERHARD* Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama Communicated by Charles D. Michener, October 15, 1985 ABSTRACT Alternative adaptations-different adaptive Alternative adaptations are different, often complex, phenotypes maintained in the same life stage and the same evolved phenotypes occurring in the same lifestage and the population but not necessarily simultaneously expressed in the same population but not necessarily simultaneously ex- same individual-represent contrasting character sets pro- pressed in the same individual. [When "adaptation" sensu duced by the same genome, in effect allowing a single species Williams (5) is not applicable or intended I will use the more to occupy more than one sympatric niche. Such alternatives are general words "phenotype" or "form."] Examples are particularly likely to give rise to novel adaptations because of familiar to everyone. They include the "workers" and selection for extreme dissimilarity between them and because "queens" of social insects (6); males and females of sexually established traits buffer populations against extinction while reproducing species; and the contrasting morphs of batesian independently expressed alternatives evolve in new directions. mimics in butterflies (7). The particular phenotype expressed Particular alternatives can be suddenly fixed in populations in a given individual or at a given time depends on the state with little or no genetic change, leading to a period of rapid of a regulatory ("switch") mechanism, which can be either evolution (especially, of morphology) exaggerating the charac- condition-sensitive or genetic (allelic, chromosomal, or a teristics of the newly fixed form.
    [Show full text]