title: Chromosome inversions, adaptive cassettes and the evolution of species' ranges.
abstract: A chromosome inversion can spread when it captures locally adapted alleles or when it is introduced into a species by hybridization with adapted alleles that were previously absent. We present a model that shows how both processes can cause a species range to expand. Introgression of an inversion that carries novel, locally adapted alleles is a particularly powerful mechanism for range expansion. The model supports the earlier proposal that introgression of an inversion triggered a large range expansion of a malaria mosquito. These results suggest a role for inversions as cassettes of genes that can accelerate adaptation by crossing species boundaries, rather than protecting genomes from introgression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barrett
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D007446:Chromosome Inversion; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D005838:Genotype; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011156:Population Density
keywords: adaptation; ecological genetics; evolutionary theory; invasive species; molecular evolution; population genetics - theoretical