Evolution of genomes in the hybridogenetic populations modelled by the Penna model

TL;DR

This study models the genome evolution in hybridogenetic frog populations using the Penna model, revealing how isolation duration influences speciation and how gene flow affects genetic strategies.

Contribution

It introduces a Monte Carlo age-structured model to analyze genome evolution and defective allele distribution in hybridogenetic populations, highlighting the impact of hybrid isolation and gene flow.

Findings

Longer hybrid isolation leads to speciation via complementing haplotypes.

Gene flow prevents speciation, favoring purifying selection.

Defective alleles increase but are heterozygously complemented.

Abstract

Background: Hybridogenesis is a very interesting example of reproduction which seems to integrate the sexual and clonal processes in one system. In a case of frogs, described in the paper, two parental species - Rana lessonae and Rana ridibunda can form fertile hybrid individuals - Rana esculenta. Hybrid individuals eliminate one parental haplotype from their germ line cells before meiosis (end before recombination) which implicates clonal reproduction of the haplotype transferred to the gametes. All three "species" are called "complex species". To study the evolution of genomes in the hybridogenetic fraction of this complex species we have used the Monte Carlo based model rendering the age structured populations. The model enables the analysis of distribution of defective alleles in the individual genomes as well as in the genetic pool of the whole populations. Results: We have shown that longer isolation of hybrids' populations leads to the speciation through emerging the specific sets of complementing haplotypes in their genetic pool. The fraction of defective alleles increases but the defects are complemented in the heterozygous loci. Nevertheless, even small supply of new hybrids generated by the two parental species or crossbreeding between hybrids and one of the parental species prevents the speciation and changes the strategy of the genome evolution from the complementing to the purifying Darwinian selection.