title: Hybridization generates a hopeful monster: a hermaphroditic selfing cichlid.
abstract: Compared with other phylogenetic groups, self-fertilization (selfing) is exceedingly rare in vertebrates and is known to occur only in one small clade of fishes. Here we report observing one F1-hybrid individual that developed into a functional hermaphrodite after crossing two closely-related sexually reproducing species of cichlids. Microsatellite alleles segregated consistent with selfing and Mendelian inheritance and we could rule out different modes of parthenogenesis including automixis. We discuss why selfing is not more commonly observed in vertebrates in nature, and the role of hybridization in the evolution of novel traits.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, Gothenburg 405 30, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ola
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3752-3131
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.affiliation: School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences , University of Hull , Hull , UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, UK; Biodiversity Group, Centro Universitario Regional Este, Universidad de la República, Maldonado 20000, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Alonso
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental Sciences , University of East Anglia , Norwich Research Park, Norwich , UK.
authors.forename: Cock
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Oosterhout
keywords: Pundamilia pundamilia×Neochromis omnicaeruleus; colour polymorphism; disorders of sex development; self-fertilization; selfing; transgressive segregation