When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)

In the marine environment, an increasing number of studies have documented introgression and hybridization using genetic markers. Hybridization appears to occur preferentially between sister-species, with the probability of introgression decreasing with an increase in evolutionary divergence. Except...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Romina Henriques, Sophie von der Heyden, Conrad A. Matthee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2016-03-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/1827.pdf
_version_ 1827607275574919168
author Romina Henriques
Sophie von der Heyden
Conrad A. Matthee
author_facet Romina Henriques
Sophie von der Heyden
Conrad A. Matthee
author_sort Romina Henriques
collection DOAJ
description In the marine environment, an increasing number of studies have documented introgression and hybridization using genetic markers. Hybridization appears to occur preferentially between sister-species, with the probability of introgression decreasing with an increase in evolutionary divergence. Exceptions to this pattern were reported for the Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus), two distantly related Merluciidae species that diverged 3–4.2 million years ago. Yet, it is expected that contemporary hybridization between such divergent species would result in reduced hybrid fitness. We analysed 1,137 hake individuals using nine microsatellite markers and control region mtDNA data to assess the validity of the described hybridization event. To distinguish between interbreeding, ancestral polymorphism and homplasy we sequenced the flanking region of the most divergent microsatellite marker. Simulation and empirical analyses showed that hybrid identification significantly varied with the number of markers, model and approach used. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the flanking region of Mmerhk-3b, combined with the absence of mito-nuclear discordance, suggest that previously reported hybridization between M. paradoxus and M. capensis cannot be substantiated. Our findings highlight the need to conduct a priori simulation studies to establish the suitability of a particular set of microsatellite loci for detecting multiple hybridization events. In our example, the identification of hybrids was severely influenced by the number of loci and their variability, as well as the different models employed. More importantly, we provide quantifiable evidence showing that homoplasy mimics the effects of heterospecific crossings which can lead to the incorrect identification of hybridization.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T06:52:08Z
format Article
id doaj.art-740732afba6a42df9151dfeedfd30d80
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2167-8359
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T06:52:08Z
publishDate 2016-03-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj.art-740732afba6a42df9151dfeedfd30d802023-12-03T10:22:35ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592016-03-014e182710.7717/peerj.1827When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)Romina Henriques0Sophie von der Heyden1Conrad A. Matthee2Evolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaEvolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaEvolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South AfricaIn the marine environment, an increasing number of studies have documented introgression and hybridization using genetic markers. Hybridization appears to occur preferentially between sister-species, with the probability of introgression decreasing with an increase in evolutionary divergence. Exceptions to this pattern were reported for the Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus), two distantly related Merluciidae species that diverged 3–4.2 million years ago. Yet, it is expected that contemporary hybridization between such divergent species would result in reduced hybrid fitness. We analysed 1,137 hake individuals using nine microsatellite markers and control region mtDNA data to assess the validity of the described hybridization event. To distinguish between interbreeding, ancestral polymorphism and homplasy we sequenced the flanking region of the most divergent microsatellite marker. Simulation and empirical analyses showed that hybrid identification significantly varied with the number of markers, model and approach used. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of the flanking region of Mmerhk-3b, combined with the absence of mito-nuclear discordance, suggest that previously reported hybridization between M. paradoxus and M. capensis cannot be substantiated. Our findings highlight the need to conduct a priori simulation studies to establish the suitability of a particular set of microsatellite loci for detecting multiple hybridization events. In our example, the identification of hybrids was severely influenced by the number of loci and their variability, as well as the different models employed. More importantly, we provide quantifiable evidence showing that homoplasy mimics the effects of heterospecific crossings which can lead to the incorrect identification of hybridization.https://peerj.com/articles/1827.pdfHomoplasyHybridizationMicrosatellite markersMerluccius
spellingShingle Romina Henriques
Sophie von der Heyden
Conrad A. Matthee
When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
PeerJ
Homoplasy
Hybridization
Microsatellite markers
Merluccius
title When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
title_full When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
title_fullStr When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
title_full_unstemmed When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
title_short When homoplasy mimics hybridization: a case study of Cape hakes (Merluccius capensis and M. paradoxus)
title_sort when homoplasy mimics hybridization a case study of cape hakes merluccius capensis and m paradoxus
topic Homoplasy
Hybridization
Microsatellite markers
Merluccius
url https://peerj.com/articles/1827.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT rominahenriques whenhomoplasymimicshybridizationacasestudyofcapehakesmerlucciuscapensisandmparadoxus
AT sophievonderheyden whenhomoplasymimicshybridizationacasestudyofcapehakesmerlucciuscapensisandmparadoxus
AT conradamatthee whenhomoplasymimicshybridizationacasestudyofcapehakesmerlucciuscapensisandmparadoxus