title: Hybrid necrosis: autoimmunity as a potential gene-flow barrier in plant species.
abstract: Ecological factors, hybrid sterility and differences in ploidy levels are well known for contributing to gene-flow barriers in plants. Another common postzygotic incompatibility, hybrid necrosis, has received comparatively little attention in the evolutionary genetics literature. Hybrid necrosis is associated with a suite of phenotypic characteristics that are similar to those elicited in response to various environmental stresses, including pathogen attack. The genetic architecture is generally simple, and complies with the Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller model for hybrid incompatibility between species. We survey the extensive literature on this topic and present the hypothesis that hybrid necrosis can result from autoimmunity, perhaps as a pleiotropic effect of evolution of genes that are involved in pathogen response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Spemanstrasse 37-39, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. kirsten.bomblies@tuebingen.mpg.de
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bomblies
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weigel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000235:genetics; D002678:Chimera / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology; D051456:Gene Flow; D016334:Genes, vpr / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009336:Necrosis / Q000235:genetics; D051479:Plant Infertility / Q000235:genetics; D010941:Plant Tumors / Q000209:etiology; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000276:immunology; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics; D012641:Selection, Genetic