| Rapid displacement of a monoecious plant lineage is due to pollen swamping by a dioecious relative. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 16713956 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Interspecific hybridization is recognized as a potentially destructive process that represents a major threat to biodiversity. The rate of population displacement by hybridization can be rapid, but underlying mechanisms are often obscure. One hypothesis is that a species may be driven to extinction by interspecific gene flow, or pollen swamping, when hybrids are inviable or sterile. Here, we document the rapid movement of two zones of contact between monoecious hexaploid and dioecious diploid populations of the wind-pollinated plant Mercurialis annua (Euphorbiaceae) in northeastern and northwestern Spain, where diploids have displaced hexaploids by about 80 and 200 km, respectively, over a period of four decades. By using experimental mating arrays, we show that hybridization is highly asymmetrical in favor of the diploids, mainly because they disperse substantially more pollen, as expected in a comparison between an obligate outcrosser and a facultative selfer. Self-fertilization, which is expected to reduce the proportion of sterile hybrids produced in mixed ploidy populations, allowed the hexaploids to avoid the effects of pollen swamping only slightly, and in a density-dependent manner. Our results thus provide a mechanistic explanation for the rapid movement of both contact zones of M. annua in Spain. |
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Authors:
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Richard J A Buggs; John R Pannell |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Current biology : CB Volume: 16 ISSN: 0960-9822 ISO Abbreviation: Curr. Biol. Publication Date: 2006 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2006-05-22 Completed Date: 2006-09-11 Revised Date: 2006-11-15 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9107782 Medline TA: Curr Biol Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 996-1000 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Biodiversity Diploidy Euphorbiaceae / physiology* Gene Flow / physiology* Hybridization, Genetic / physiology* Inbreeding Pollen / physiology* Polyploidy Reproduction / physiology Spain |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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Curr Biol. 2006 Jun 6;16(11):R407-9
[PMID:
16753551
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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