Rare yet accumulating evidence in both plants and animals shows that whole genome duplication (WGD, leading to polyploidy) can break down reproductive barriers, facilitating gene flow between otherwise isolated species. Recent population genomic studies wild, outcrossing Arabidopsis arenosa lyrata indicate this WGD-potentiated be adaptive highly specific response particular environmental intrac...

Documenting the full extent of gene flow during speciation poses a challenge, as species ranges change over time and current rates of hybridisation might not reflect historical trends. Theoretical work has emphasized the potential for speciation in the face of ongoing hybridisation, and the genetic mechanisms that might facilitate this process. However, elucidating how the rate of gene flow bet...

Geographic range margins offer testing grounds for limits to adaptation. If range limits are concordant with niche limits, range expansions require the evolution of new phenotypes that can maintain populations beyond current range margins. However, many species' range margins appear static over time, suggesting limits on the ability of marginal populations to evolve appropriate phenotypes. A po...

Pollen-mediated gene flow is the major pathway for transgene escape from GM rice to its wild relatives. Transgene escape to wild Oryza species having AA-genome will occur if GM rice is released to environments with these wild Oryza species. Transgenes may persist to and spread in wild populations after gene flow, resulting unwanted ecological consequences. For assessing the potential consequenc...

Gene flow plays a fundamental role in plant evolutionary history, yet its role in population divergence--and ultimately speciation--remains poorly understood. We investigated gene flow and the modalities of divergence in the domesticated Zea mays ssp. mays and three wild Zea taxa using sequence polymorphism data from 26 nuclear loci. We described diversity across loci and assessed evidence for ...