Biodiv Sci ›› 2017, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (6): 577-599.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2017097

Special Issue: 物种形成与系统进化

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Approaches used to detect and test hybridization: combining phylogenetic and population genetic analyses

Jian-Feng Mao1,*(), Yongpeng Ma2, Renchao Zhou3   

  1. 1 National Engineering Laboratory for Tree Breeding, Key Laboratory of Genetics and Breeding in Forest Trees and Ornamental Plants of Ministry of Education, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083
    2 Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201
    3 School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275
  • Received:2017-03-26 Accepted:2017-05-04 Online:2017-06-20 Published:2017-07-10
  • Contact: Mao Jian-Feng

Abstract:

Hybridization among diverging (interspecific or intraspecific) groups involves gene flow and genetic recombination. Increasingly, studies have shown that hybridization, a process of genetic exchanges, occurs widely in the divergence and unity of animals, plants, and microorganisms, and acts as an important mechanism for the formation and maintenance of biological diversity. The rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technology and the widespread application of genome-level techniques provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to further evaluate the universality and evolutionary significance of hybridization. However, selecting appropriate research techniques and strategies to detect the potential hybridization and evaluate its characteristics becomes a common question. In this review, we attempt to synthesize methods from phylogenetics and population genetics of the genomic era to provide biodiversity and evolutionary researchers a practical reference for testing hybridization.

Key words: genetic exchange, gene flow, biodiversity, phylogenetics, population genetics