Convergent adaptation to a marginal habitat by homoploid hybrids and polyploid ecads in the seaweed genus Fucus
Hybridization and polyploidy are two major sources of genetic variability that can lead to adaptation in new habitats. Most species of the brown algal genus Fucus are found along wave-swept rocky shores of the Northern Hemisphere, but some species have adapted to brackish and salt marsh habitats. Us...
Published in: | Biology Letters |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2006
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11370/88b7155e-bd18-4f65-800e-4287de038d0e https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/88b7155e-bd18-4f65-800e-4287de038d0e https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2006.0489 |
Summary: | Hybridization and polyploidy are two major sources of genetic variability that can lead to adaptation in new habitats. Most species of the brown algal genus Fucus are found along wave-swept rocky shores of the Northern Hemisphere, but some species have adapted to brackish and salt marsh habitats. Using five microsatellite loci and mtDNA RFLP, we characterize two populations of morphologically similar, muscoideslike Fucus inhabiting salt marshes in Iceland and Ireland. The Icelandic genotypes were consistent with Fucus vesiculosus x Fucus spiralis F, hybrids with asymmetrical hybridization, whereas the Irish ones consisted primarily of polyploid F. vesiculosus. |
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