The genomic consequences of hybridization

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in understanding the genomic effects of hybridization, highlighting progress, open questions, and the potential for predicting genome evolution in hybrid species.

Contribution

It synthesizes current knowledge on the mechanisms and outcomes of hybridization, emphasizing unresolved questions and future research directions.

Findings

Hybridization can lead to predictable genomic outcomes.

Selection influences the retention or loss of ancestry in hybrids.

Many questions remain about the biological factors shaping hybrid genome evolution.

Abstract

In the past decade, advances in genome sequencing have allowed researchers to uncover the history of hybridization in diverse groups of species, including our own. Although the field has made impressive progress in documenting the extent of natural hybridization, both historical and recent, there are still many unanswered questions about its genetic and evolutionary consequences. Recent work has suggested that the outcomes of hybridization in the genome may be in part predictable, but many open questions about the nature of selection on hybrids and the biological variables that shape such selection have hampered progress in this area. We discuss what is known about the mechanisms that drive changes in ancestry in the genome after hybridization, highlight major unresolved questions, and discuss their implications for the predictability of genome evolution after hybridization.