title: Hybridization and reproductive isolation between diploid Erythronium mesochoreum and its tetraploid congener E. albidum (Liliaceae).
abstract: Polyploidy has played an important role in angiosperm diversification, but how polyploidy contributes to reproductive isolation remains poorly understood. Most work has focused on postzygotic reproductive barriers, and the influence of ploidy differences on prezygotic barriers is understudied. To address these gaps, we quantified hybrid occurrence, interspecific self-compatibility differences, and the contributions of multiple pre- and postzygotic barriers to reproductive isolation between diploid Erythronium mesochoreum (Liliaceae) and its tetraploid congener Erythronium albidum. Reproductive isolation between the study species was nearly complete, and naturally occurring hybrids were infrequent and largely sterile. Although postzygotic barriers effected substantial reproductive isolation when considered in isolation, the study species' spatial distributions and pollinator assemblages overlapped little, such that interspecific pollen transfer is likely uncommon. We did not find evidence that E. albidum and E. mesochoreum differed in mating systems, indicating that self-incompatibility release may not have fostered speciation in this system. Ultimately, we demonstrate that E. albidum and E. mesochoreum are reproductively isolated by multiple, hierarchically-operating barriers, and we add to the currently limited number of studies demonstrating that early acting barriers such as pollinator-mediated isolation can be important for effecting and sustaining reproductive isolation in diploid-polyploid systems.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588.|Current Address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045.
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roccaforte
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588.
authors.forename: Sabrina E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D005843:Geography; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D007313:Insecta; D019668:Liliaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D054817:Pollination; D011123:Polyploidy; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Flow cytometry; geographic isolation; pollinator-mediated isolation; polyploidy; reproductive barriers; speciation