title: Hybridization and the colonization of novel habitats by annual sunflowers.
abstract: Although invasive plant species often have a hybrid ancestry, unambiguous evidence that hybridization has stimulated the evolution of invasive behaviors has been difficult to come by. Here, we briefly review how hybridization might contribute to the colonization of novel habitats, range expansions, and invasiveness and then describe work on hybrid sunflowers that forges a direct link between hybridization and ecological divergence. We first discuss the invasion of Texas by the common sunflower and show that the introgression of chromosomal segments from a locally adapted species may have facilitated range expansion. We then present evidence that the colonization of sand dune, desert floor, and salt marsh habitats by three hybrid sunflower species was made possible by selection on extreme or "transgressive" phenotypes generated by hybridization. This body of work corroborates earlier claims regarding the role of hybridization in adaptive evolution and provides an experimental and conceptual framework for ongoing studies in this area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. lriesebe@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Loren H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Rieseberg
authors.forename: Seung-Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Randell
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Whitney
authors.forename: Briana L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lexer
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Clay
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D017343:Genes, Plant; D040741:Genetic Load; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006368:Helianthus / Q000235:genetics*; D006823:Hybrid Vigor; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013781:Texas