The evolutionary network of whiptail lizards reveals predictable outcomes of hybridization

Abstract

Hybridization between diverging lineages is associated with the generation and loss of species diversity, introgression, adaptation, and changes in reproductive mode, but it is unknown when and why it results in these divergent outcomes. We estimate a comprehensive evolutionary network for the largest group of unisexual vertebrates and use it to understand the evolutionary outcomes of hybridization. Our results show that rates of introgression between species decrease with time since divergence and suggest that species must attain a threshold of evolutionary divergence before hybridization results in transitions to unisexuality. Rates of hybridization also predict genome-wide patterns of genetic diversity in whiptail lizards. These results distinguish among models for hybridization that have not previously been tested and suggest that the evolutionary outcomes can be predictable.