Hybridization and introgression in Melocactus (Cactaceae) hybrid swarms found in Diamantina Plateau, Bahia, Brazil: A genome wide approach using RAD-Sequencing

• Grant number: 14/26224-5
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal researcher: Evandro Marsola de Moraes
• Grantee: Gulzar Khan
• Home Institution: Centro de Ciências Humanas e Biológicas (CCHB). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Hybridization and introgression are very important processes that increase the genetic variability in natural populations through genetic recombination, promoting evolution and speciation. Melocactus concinnus is a geographically widespread endemic species in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Minas Gerais, occurring in sympatry with several Melocactus species at the region of Morro do Chapéu (Diamantina Plateau, Bahia, Brazil). Morphological observations suggest that M. concinnus populations from Morro do Chapéu appear to hybridize with other Melocactus species, resulting in occasional F1 hybrids in some areas and in hybrid swarms in others. This research will investigate the genetic architecture, and the level of introgression in this putative hybrid zone involving Melocactus species throughout genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). We will also use the SNP data set to search for genomic regions under selection, which could be contributing to the maintenance of species barriers and divergent selection.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

KHAN, GULZAR; FRANCO, FERNANDO F.; SILVA, GISLAINE A. R.; BOMBONATO, JULIANA R.; MACHADO, MARLON; ALONSO, DIEGO P.; RIBOLLA, PAULO E. M.; ALBACH, DIRK C.; MORAES, EVANDRO M. Maintaining genetic integrity with high promiscuity: Frequent hybridization with low introgression in multiple hybrid zones of Melocactus (Cactaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 142, JAN 2020. Web of Science Citations: 5.