Adaptive introgression: a plant perspective

Abstract

Introgression is emerging as an important source of novel genetic variation, alongside standing variation and mutation. It is adaptive when such introgressed alleles are maintained by natural selection. Recently, there has been an explosion in the number of studies on adaptive introgression. In this review, we take a plant perspective centred on four lines of evidence: (i) introgression, (ii) selection, (iii) phenotype and (iv) fitness. While advances in genomics have contributed to our understanding of introgression and porous species boundaries (task 1), and the detection of signatures of selection in introgression (task 2), the investigation of adaptive introgression critically requires links to phenotypic variation and fitness (tasks 3 and 4). We also discuss the conservation implications of adaptive introgression in the face of climate change. Adaptive introgression is particularly important in rapidly changing environments, when standing genetic variation and mutation alone may only offer limited potential for adaptation. We conclude that clarifying the magnitude and fitness effects of introgression with improved statistical techniques, coupled with phenotypic evidence, has great potential for conservation and management efforts.

Keywords: adaptive introgression; climate change; hybridization; natural selection; phenotypic variation; species boundaries.

Figure 1.

Syngameon of North American poplars (Populus). Lines represent hybrid zones connecting the largely parapatric species. ‘T’ indicates the three-species hybrid zone in southern Alberta. P. trichocarpa × P. deltoides, although common in cultivation, is rare in the wild (indicated with dotted line). Adaptive introgression has been demonstrated between P. trichocarpa and P. balsamifera (see text) but potentially occurs more widely across the syngameon.