Complex patterns of hybridization and introgression across evolutionary timescales in Mexican whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis)

Abstract

Identifying patterns of introgression across the tree of life is foundational to understanding general mechanisms that govern the impacts of gene flow on the speciation process. There are few vertebrate groups in which hybridization is associated with as large a diversity of outcomes as in North American whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis). Of particular interest is that hybridization among divergent whiptail species has repeatedly led to the formation of unisexual (parthenogenetic) lineages. Understanding the hybrid origin of these unisexual lineages requires an accurate understanding of species boundaries among gonochoristic whiptails. Doing so has historically been an extremely challenging problem which, in part, may be a consequence of widespread hybridization and incomplete reproductive isolation among lineages. The lack of a robust phylogenetic framework and uncertainty in species boundaries precludes studies of general patterns and mechanisms of introgression among whiptail species. Here, we use genomic data to reconstruct a robust estimate of evolutionary history in the largest clade of whiptail lizards (A. sexlineatus species group) and use it to identify patterns of introgression. Our results indicate substantial introgressive hybridization and admixture has occurred among multiple lineages of whiptails across diverse evolutionary time scales, and illustrate their impact on phylogenetic inference. Thus, hybridization among whiptail species appears to have been a prominent feature throughout their evolutionary history, which could, in part, explain why parthenogenesis has evolved so many times in whiptails in comparison to other vertebrate groups.