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Abstract
Interspecific hybridization is one of the major actuators of evolutionary changes in plants. As the result of allopolyploid hybridization, offspring may gain different ploidy levels in comparison to parental species, which can provide them instant reproductive isolation. Two tetraploid sister species, Centaurium erythraea and C. littorale, readily cross-fertilize, resulting in hybrids of various ploidy. In northern Serbia, two stable populations of a hexaploid taxon C. pannonicum have been documented. It has been proposed previously that this taxon emerged after an interspecific hybridization event between two tetraploid sister-species: C. erythraea and C. littorale subsp. compressum. The existing populations of the hybridogenic taxon, as well as neighboring populations of the two parental taxa were here characterized by both morphometrics and molecular markers (EST-SSR and trnL-F). Three leaf and two flower characteristics were found to be informative in delimitation of the parental taxa and in their discernment from hybrid individuals, the latter having intermediate values. Eight microsatellite markers were found to have good ability to distinguish studied taxa, placing C. pannonicum in closer relationship with C. erythraea. Conversely, trnL-F plastid marker nominated C. littorale subsp. compressum to be the donor of the C. pannonicum plastid DNA. Reproductive isolation of the hexaploid hybrid individuals from the parental species should be examined as the next logical step in describing the new species.
Highlights
It has been proposed previously that this taxon emerged after an interspecific hybridization event between two tetraploid sister-species: C. erythraea and C. littorale subsp. compressum
The significance of interspecific hybridization in the “origin” of plant species and evolution has been debated for decades, with opposing views on it regarding it as a creative evolutionary force or as an evolutionary noise [1]
Principal component analysis (PCA) biplot based on five morphological characters of 127 individuals provided good discrimination between two parental species, along the principal component 2 (PC2) (Figure 1)
Summary
The significance of interspecific hybridization in the “origin” of plant species and evolution has been debated for decades, with opposing views on it regarding it as a creative evolutionary force or as an evolutionary noise [1]. Since the reproductive barriers between morphologically well-described congeneric species are often weak, interspecific hybridization can occur quite frequently, which has been a focus of many botanists for a very long time [2]. It is a well-known fact that a new hybrid line can be formed through allopolyploidization or homoploid hybrid speciation, the former being more common and more feasible [1]. Huge numbers of plant species have been reported to have passed through at least one whole genome duplication event [5], and immense angiosperm diversity is assumed to originate from. Polyploids may step into interspecific crossing, which may result in occurrence of hybrids harboring multiple sets of parental genomes
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