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Interspecific plant hybridization is a common and evolutionarily important phenomenon. Here, the results of a study of hybridization
in the Florida Keys between two species of sea oxeye daisy, Borrichia frutescens and B. arborescens, are reported. Nuclear and
chloroplast genetic loci, log-likelihood assignment tests, and maximum likelihood estimates of genealogical class frequencies were
used to identify hybrid and parent genotypes, to investigate the utility of leaf and flower morphology for hybrid identification, and to
study symmetry and degree of introgression between the species. Genetic analyses confirmed the identity of the hybrid and parent
plants that were used for the morphological studies. Together, leaf and flower morphology can be used to identify hybrid and parental
types with moderate accuracy (4% error rate). Population genetic analyses indicate that, in spite of a significant level of hybridization,
pure B. frutescens and B. arborescens are persisting in the hybrid zone. Of the nonparentals, about 18% appear to be F1 hybrids, over
50% F2 hybrids, and the remainder backcrossed individuals but only with the B. frutescens parent. It is postulated that the hybrid zone
in the Florida Keys is being maintained by a combination of positive assortative mating and clonal reproduction.
Key words: Asteraceae; chloroplast DNA; cytonuclear disequilibrium; Florida, USA; hybrid zone; single-copy nuclear DNA.
Interspecific hybridization among plants is a common phe- brids must be high enough to allow the hybrids to survive to
nomenon in nature, and hybrid zones are model systems for maturity and backcross with parental individuals.
the study of evolutionary processes (Barton and Hewitt, 1989; The initiation of hybridization between taxonomically valid
Rieseberg and Ellstrand, 1993; Arnold et al., 1999). The evo- species results from a variety of forces but essentially involves
lutionary consequences of hybridization, however, are mani- the mixing of gametes of reproductively compatible species.
fold and include increased genetic diversity of one or both In many instances, hybridization may be a highly transient
hybridizing parental species through introgression, novel ad- event and of no real evolutionary consequence. Alternatively,
aptations, breakdown, or reinforcement of reproductive isolat- repeated crossing between parental species or stabilization of
ing barriers, novel ecotypes or species, and reticulate specia- hybrid breeding systems can result in the formation of hybrid
tion from introgressive hybridization (Gallez and Gottlieb, swarms, hybrid zones, or new hybrid species (Grant, 1981;
1982; Arnold et al., 1991; Wendel et al., 1991; Arnold, 1997). Rieseberg, 1997). If the hybrid fitness is low relative to the
Hybridization also can threaten the persistence of rare species parental species, tension zones may be formed (Barton and
through gene swamping by a more common, reproductively Hewitt, 1985). Severe fitness consequences of hybrid produc-
compatible species (Rieseberg and Morefield, 1995; Levin et tion favor the evolution of reproductive incompatibility
al., 1996; Rhymer and Simberloff, 1996). Ecological impli- through reinforcement. If the fitness of the hybrids is equal to
cations of hybridization include the influences of hybrids on or greater than the parental species throughout the zone of
the organisms with which they interact, such as competing hybridization, as well as in the range of the parental species,
plant species and herbivorous animals (Strauss, 1994; Fritz et then the parental species are likely to merge. Finally, if hybrids
al., 1999). have superior fitness, but only in specific habitats (e.g., eco-
For plants, hybridization is thought to play a prominent role logically intermediate or disturbed habitats), hybrid zones may
in the evolution of new taxa (Grant, 1981; Rieseberg, 1995, be stably maintained (Endler, 1977; Moore and Buchanan,
1997). Much of the evolutionary significance of hybridization, 1985; but see Arnold, 1997 for explanations not involving se-
however, depends on the fate of hybrids, which in turn de- lection).
pends on the fitness of hybrids and their fitness relative to the When natural selection plays a role in the maintenance of
parental species. Although direct estimates of fitness are dif- hybrid zones, the response of genes under selection is expected
ficult at best, the fate of hybrids often can, at least in part, be
to be different from neutral genes. Genes from one species
determined empirically through the assessment of the degree
that are negatively selected in the alternate species are unlikely
of introgression following hybridization. If the genes of one
species are introgressing into another, then the fitness of hy- to introgress and may only be found in low frequency in the
hybrid zone. Contrariwise, neutral genes are free to cross hy-
brid barriers and introgress into the parental species. Similarly,
1
Manuscript received 5 January 2004; revision accepted 2 July 2004.
The authors thank M. Asmussen, S. Bell, B. Cochrane, E. McCoy, J. Nason, genes under positive selection outside of the hybrid zone may
A. Schnabel, P. Stiling, S. Ravdal, M. Roberts, A. Rossi, E. Severance, and spread into the alternate parental species (Arnold, 1997). The
J. T. Streelman for helpful suggestions on experimental design, laboratory direction and degree of introgression, however, is influenced
protocols, field work, and data analysis. J. Nason kindly shared analysis pro- by the frequency of backcrossing between the hybrids and the
grams. We also thank The Nature Conservancy for providing access to plants parental species, which may be more common than the initial
on Little Torch Key. This research was supported in part by a National Science
Foundation Program in Systematics grant (DEB 98-06905) to SAK. production of F1 hybrids (Arnold, 1997).
2
Present address: 5497 Gunbarrel Road, Longmont, Colorado 80503 USA. To assess the degree of introgression, the genealogical clas-
3
E-mail: karl@mail.cas.usf.edu. ses (parental, F1, F2, backcrosses, etc.) must be accurately dif-
1757
1758 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY [Vol. 91
TABLE 1. Polymerase chain reaction annealing conditions and results of restriction enzymes survey of three individuals of Borrichia frutescens
and B. arborescens from Florida USA.
Annealing Species-specific
Locus temperature (8C) Annealing time (s) Fragment size (bp) No. enzymes screened enzyme used
with 95% ethanol, dried, and resuspended in 400 mL of a 10 mmol/L tris-CL sel, Switzerland). Each locus was digested with up to 26 different enzymes
and 1 mmol/L ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (TE) solution. or until a variable site was found. Digested DNA was electrophoresed in 2.5%
The library was prepared and screened for single-copy loci according to agarose gels stained with ethidium bromide, and restriction fragment profiles
Karl and Avise (1993). Briefly, total cell DNA was digested with Sau3A and were revealed using short-wave ultraviolet light. Enzymes that produced eas-
fragments from 500 bp to 5000 bp were gel isolated. Size-fractioned DNA ily scored restriction fragment profiles that appeared to be species specific
was ligated into the cloning vector pBSSK 1 (Stratagene; La Jolla, California, were used on the whole set of plant samples. As an additional nuclear locus,
USA), transformed into bacteria, and plated on antibiotic media. Recombinant the universal PCR primers ITS 4 and 5 (White et al., 1990) were used to
clones were screened for insert size by restriction endonuclease digestion of amplify the internal transcribed spacer region between ribosomal genes. The
mini-DNA preparations (Ausubel et al., 1993), and genomic copy number amplified fragment was digested as described earlier with the same set of
was determined by dot blot analysis using labeled total cell DNA as a probe restriction enzymes.
(Karl and Avise, 1993). Once single-copy clones were identified, 18 were To identify a species-specific cytoplasmic marker, several sets of universal
arbitrarily chosen from the library for sequencing and primer construction. chloroplast primers were screened (Taberlet et al., 1991; Demesure et al.,
Cloned inserts were directly sequenced from mini-prep DNA using either the 1995). The fragment generated using the ‘‘a’’ and ‘‘b’’ primers of Taberlet et
dideoxy chain-termination method (Sanger et al., 1977) with a Sequenase al. (1991) contained a small, apparently species-specific size difference and
version 2.0 sequencing kit (USB; Cleveland, Ohio, USA) and size sorted on was used to genotype all individuals. Chloroplast fragments were digested
acrylamide gels or with an ABI Prism automated sequencing kit (Big Dye or with restriction enzymes as for the nuclear loci. When digested with HinfI,
D-rhodamine; Perkin-Elmer, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and analyzed on the restriction endonuclease profile consisted of several smaller fragments,
an ABI 310 automated sequencer. Sequences were aligned manually using the which eased the scoring of the size difference. To verify the presence and
computer program SeqEd (Applied Biosystems; Foster City, California, USA) size of the indel, one individual of each species was amplified, sequenced,
and screened for possible polymerase chain reaction (PCR) priming sites using and the sequences aligned as described before.
the computer programs OLIGO (Molecular Biology Insights; Cascade, Col-
orado, USA) and Primer 3 (Rozen and Skaletsky, 1997). Primers to 11 clones Individual genotypes—DNA was extracted from leaves using the CTAB
were synthesized by Cybersyn (Lenni, Pennsylvania, USA), and PCR ampli- procedure detailed before, with modifications as follows. The extractions were
fication conditions were optimized using the genomic DNA used in library scaled down so that they could be completed in 1.5-mL microcentrifuge tubes.
construction and miniprep vector DNA from the corresponding clone. Exact For these extractions, a piece of leaf, roughly 1 cm in length (smaller for
thermal-cycling parameters varied depending on the primers used and were dried samples) was ground in 100 mL of 658C CTAB buffer with a small
determined empirically, generally by varying annealing temperature and time amount of sterile sand and a sterile, reusable plastic pestle. Once the tissue
(Table 1). was well macerated, 400 mL of warm CTAB buffer was added. The sample
Primers to three of the 11 single-copy nuclear loci amplified reliably, pro- was incubated at 658C for 1–2 h, and the DNA was extracted organically and
ducing a single product of the expected size and were screened for polymor- purified as for the library construction. The DNA was resuspended in 100 mL
phic restriction endonuclease sites. One microliter of genomic DNA from TE. The samples were further purified for PCR amplification by spinning them
three individuals from each species was amplified in 50-mL reactions con- through Microcon 100 000 nominal molecular weight limit spin columns. The
taining 3.0 mmol/L of each dNTP, 2.5 units Taq polymerase (Promega, Mad- final sample volume was adjusted to 50 mL with TE.
ison, Wisconsin, USA), 2.5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.10 mmol/L bovine serum al-
bumin (Roche Diagnostics; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA), and 0.41 mmol/L of Morphological measurements—Leaf samples for genetic analysis were
each primer. Thermal cycling generally consisted of a 2-min denaturation at taken from five stems per plant of each of the three putative species that were
958C, followed by 30 cycles of 1 min at 958C, annealing (Table 1), extension haphazardly collected from each of two individuals within five sites (Fig. 1;
for 1 min at 728C, and a single final extension step of 7 min at 728C. Card Sound, Teatable, Boot Key, Little Torch, and Rockland). Within several
To check the amount and fidelity of amplification, ;5 mL of each undi- hours of collection; the diameter of the stem tip and the length, width, and
gested sample was electrophoresed through a 2.0% agarose gel stained with thickness of the third leaf from the meristem were measured with dial calipers
ethidium bromide. Successfully amplified DNA was used directly in restric- to the nearest one-hundredth of a millimeter. If flowers were present, the
tion digestions, without further purification. Eight microliters of each ampli- height of the inflorescence was measured from the base of the phyllaries to
fication were digested separately in a 20-mL reaction volume with 10 units the base of the ray flowers. The width of the inflorescence was measured at
of restriction endonuclease enzyme for a minimum of 2 h, according to the the widest point, and the length of the first pair of phyllaries was measured.
manufacturer’s recommended reaction conditions (F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ba- These morphological traits were chosen because they appeared to differ be-
1760 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY [Vol. 91
Borrichia frutescens
3F6 5 20 6.41 1 5.00
2D4 5 22 7.38 3 13.64
ITS 5 20 2.59 0 0.00
6G3 2 10 1.06 0 0.00
Taba-ba 3 14 1.97 0 0.00
3B6 10 42 6.20 1 2.38
11C3 4 16 2.16 0 0.00
TrnM-rbcla 42 168 5.86 0 0.00
TrnL1-L2a 6 24 5.09 0 0.00
TrnH-Ka 10 40 2.45 0 0.00
Borrichia arborescens
3F6 4 16 5.13 0 0.00
2D4 4 16 5.37 1 6.25
ITS 6 24 3.11 0 0.00
6G3 4 20 2.13 0 0.00
Taba-ba 3 14 1.97 0 0.00
3B6 11 46 6.79 1 2.17
11C3 2 8 1.08 1 12.50
TrnM-rbcla 42 168 5.86 0 0.00
TrnL1-L2a 6 24 5.09 0 0.00
TrnH-Ka 10 40 2.45 0 0.00
a Chloroplast locus. Primer names refer to those in Taberlet et al. (1991) and Demesure et al. (1995).
tween the parent species and could be measured reliably in the field before and Ellstrand, 1993). Standard deviations of the genotype class frequencies
leaves began to wilt. were estimated by bootstrapping with 600 replicates.
Morphological data were tested for significant differences between species
Data analysis—Estimates of Hardy-Weinberg genotypic frequency equilib- using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Square root or log10 transfor-
rium (HWE), linkage disequilibrium, FST, and log-likelihood (LL) assignment mations were used when necessary to fit model assumptions. When assump-
of individual genotypes to species (B. frutescens or B. arborescens) for stan- tions could not be met, Kruskal–Wallace nonparametric tests were applied
dard, genotypic, co-dominant data with gametic phase unknown were calcu- using species as the grouping variable. Morphological data were tested for
lated using Arlequin version 2.0 (Schneider et al., 2000). Program default reliability in discriminating plant genotypes using canonical discriminant
settings were used for all the genetic analyses. Cytonuclear disequilibrium function analyses of the means of measurements within plant patches (each
(CND; D, D1, D2, and D3) values were estimated using the CND computer patch is likely a single individual). To help determine which type of data is
package (Asmussen and Basten, 1994; Basten, 1996). Here, D measures the most informative, discriminant function analyses were applied to all of the
nuclear allelic disequilibrium, D1 measures the disequilibrium between one morphological characters separately, as well as together, for flower and leaf
cytotype and one homozygous genotype, D3 measures the disequilibrium be- morphological data sets. Three of the plants did not have flowering stems and
tween the same cytotype and the other homozygous genotype, and D2 mea- were excluded from analyses. The proportion of the total variance in the
sures the disequilibrium between the cytotype and the heterozygous genotype discriminant scores that is not explained by the group differences (Wilks’ l)
(Asmussen et al., 1987; Arnold, 1993; Asmussen and Basten, 1994). Cyto- was calculated and transformed to approximate a chi-square distribution test
nuclear disequilibria were only calculated between the chloroplast and the of significance of differences between group centroids. Eigenvalues (ratio of
nuclear loci ITS and 6G3. The 2D4 and 3F6 loci were not alternately fixed between-groups sums of squares to the error sum of squares) also were cal-
in the pure parental species making this analysis inappropriate (Arnold, 1993). culated to help estimate the spread of the group centroids. These statistics
Linear regression analysis of the LL genotype scores vs. site of collection for were done using SPSS version 7.5 (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA).
all individuals was used to indicate geographical localization of parental and
hybrid genotypes. RESULTS
The occurrence and extent of introgression and hybridization was assessed
following the hierarchical hypothesis testing approach of Nason and Ellstrand Molecular markers—Per locus variation ranged from 0.00
(1993). Individuals were assigned to one of seven genotypic categories based to 13.64% in B. frutescens and from 0.00 to 12.50% in B.
on their multilocus nuclear genotypes at loci with species-unique alleles. In-
arborescens (Table 2). The enzymes HaeIII, EcoRI, AluI, and
dividuals were classified as pure parental A or B (genealogical classes P1 and
RsaI produced the most reliable and easily scored species-
P2 for B. frutescens and B. arborescens, respectively), first filial hybrids H
(F1), second filial hybrids S (F2), or backcrosses A1 or B1 (BP1 and BP2; Nason
specific polymorphisms for ITS, 6G3, 2D4, and 3F6, respec-
and Ellstrand, 1993). A series of hierarchical hypotheses was tested, in which tively, and were used to genotype all individuals. The chlo-
the presence of nonparental multilocus genotype classes indicates hybridiza- roplast locus was size polymorphic.
tion and the presence of second filial or backcross genotype classes indicates Screening 175 individuals at the four nuclear loci and one
introgression. Maximum likelihood estimates of each class were used to test chloroplast locus resolved 37 unique multilocus genotypes
for the significance between a reduced model, assuming no backcrossed in- (Table 3). Assessment of putative pure parental species outside
dividuals, and a full model, with all six classes present. These models were of the Florida Keys (i.e., in parapatry) revealed that the nuclear
tested constraining the estimates to values between zero and one and uncon- loci ITS and 6G3 were essentially fixed for different alleles in
strained. A log-likelihood ratio tested with a chi-square statistic indicates sta- B. frutescens and B. arborescens (Table 3). For convenience,
tistical significance between the models (for computational details, see Nason nuclear alleles that were predominantly B. frutescens are cap-
November 2004] CATTELL AND KARL—INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDIZATION IN BORRICHIA 1761
TABLE 3. Individual genotypes and log-likelihood assignment probabilities for 175 Borrichia individuals in this study. Capital letters indicate the
typically B. frutescens alleles and lowercase letters indicate the typically B. arborescens alleles. In general, lower-numbered multilocus genotypes
were more B. frutescens-like and the higher-numbered ones more B. arborescens-like. Assignment probabilities were calculated excluding the
chloroplast locus; therefore, individuals with identical nuclear but different chloroplast genotypes have identical log-likelihood values.
Locus Log-likelihood
Geno-
type Number ITS 6G3 2D4 3F6 cp B. frutescens B. arborescens
italized and those that were predominantly B. arborescens are B. arborescens individuals from Puerto Rico contained the B.
lowercase throughout the text. Loci 2D4 and 3F6 were not frutescens chloroplast haplotype.
fixed for alternate alleles in the parent species but did exhibit
significant species-specific allele frequencies (FST,2D4 5 0.448, Population genetic analysis—When all plants (i.e., sym-
P , 0.001; FST,3F6 5 0.334, P , 0.001). Parapatric B. frutes- patric and parapatric) were lumped together, there were sig-
cens individuals possessed only one 2D4 allele (D), while an nificant deviations (P # 0.001) from HWE expectations at
alternate allele (d) was found in all parapatric and most pu- ITS, 6G3, and 3F6. In each case, there were fewer than ex-
tative B. arborescens individuals in the hybrid zone. A similar pected heterozygotes. Additionally, while the deviation from
situation was true for locus 3F6 with parapatric B. arborescens HWE expectation was not statistically significant for locus
individuals fixed for one allele (f), and a second allele (F) was 2D4 (P 5 0.165), the direction was the same as for the other
found in all parapatric and most putative B. frutescens indi- loci (fewer than expected heterozygotes). Significant linkage
viduals in the hybrid zone. Both the ‘‘d’’ and ‘‘F’’ alleles were disequilibrium also was found between all possible nuclear
considered to be species unique. Two chloroplast haplotypes locus pairs (P # 0.001). Both of these results are consistent
were identified: a B. frutescens haplotype found in all para- with lumping genetically differentiated groups (e.g., pure par-
patric B. frutescens individuals and a B. arborescens haplotype entals in parapatry). When morphologically classified, B. fru-
found in all of the presumed pure B. arborescens individuals tescens and B. arborescens species were analyzed separately
from the Florida Keys. Unexpectedly, the eight putatively pure regardless of collection location, no significant HWE devia-
1762 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY [Vol. 91
TABLE 4. Maximum likelihood frequency estimates of genealogical classes in the Florida Keys with (full model) and without (reduced) the
assumption of backcrossing and with and without constraining the estimates between zero and one. Borrichia frutescens is P1 and B. arborescens
is P2.
Reduced
Unconstrained 0.3655 0.3157 0.0709 0.2479 0.0000 0.0000
Constrained 0.3655 0.3157 0.0709 0.2479 0.0000 0.0000
Full
Unconstrained 0.3479 0.3267 0.0718 0.2138 0.1001 20.0603
Constrained 0.3281 0.3081 0.0677 0.2017 0.0944 0.0000
SDa 60.0403 60.0386 60.0295 60.0842 60.0613 60.0405
a Standard deviations estimated by 600 bootstrap replicates.
tions were indicated (PITS and 6G3 5 1.000 for both species, P2D4 roplast type (D2) more often than expected under random mat-
5 0.135 for B. frutescens and 0.071 for B. arborescens, P3F6 ing.
5 0.599 for B. frutescens and 1.000 for B. arborescens). For Following Nason and Ellstrand (1993), the maximum like-
B. 3 cubana, however, there were significantly more hetero- lihood estimates of genotypic class frequencies also indicated
zygotes at ITS and 6G3 (P 5 0.004) and significantly fewer a significant amount of hybridization (Table 4). Both the re-
heterozygotes at 3F6 (P , 0.001) than expected, but no sig- duced model, for which the backcross frequencies were set to
nificant deviation at 2D4 (P 5 1.000). All species pairwise zero, and the full model, which included all classes, gave sim-
FST values were fairly large and statistically significant (P # ilar results estimating that about 32% of the Keys population
0.001; B. frutescens vs. B. 3 cubana FST 5 0.188, B. frutes- consisted of nonparental types. Relative to the likelihood of
cens vs. B. arborescens FST 5 0.788, and B. 3 cubana vs. B. the reduced model (Ln 5 216.5082), the full model was a
arborescens FST 5 0.446). significantly better fit to the data in both the constrained (Ln
Significant cytoplasmic-nuclear disequilibrium was found 5 210.50172, P # 0.01) and unconstrained (212.8930, P #
between the B. frutescens chloroplast haplotype and the nu- 0.05) analyses. Regardless of the model, most of the nonpar-
clear genotypes at ITS and 6G3 in the Keys individuals. The ental individuals appeared to be second generation hybrids (F2;
D and D1 values were significant (P # 0.05) and positive (DITS ;20 to ;25% of all individuals) with very few classified as
5 0.1780, D6G3 5 0.1813, D1,ITS&6G3 5 0.1841) and D3 was first generation hybrids (F1; ;7%; Table 4). A statistically sig-
significant and negative (D3,ITS 5 20.1720 and D3,6G3 5 nificant number of individuals was estimated to be back-
20.1785). D2 values (20.0121 and 20.0056 for ITS and 6G3, crossed to B. frutescens (;10%) but not to B. arborescens
respectively) were not significantly different from zero. This (Table 4). The estimated number of hybrids backcrossed to B.
analysis indicates that the B. frutescens cytotype is found more arborescens was negative, but not significantly so.
often with homozygous B. frutescens nuclear genotypes (D1)
and less often with homozygous B. arborescens nuclear ge- Assignment tests—Results of the LL genotype assignment
notypes (D3) than expected under random mating. There is no analysis are plotted in Fig. 2 and the likelihood values are in
trend for the heterozygous state to be found with either chlo- Table 3. The genotypes at the far extremes of the spread of
the points are most likely pure parental genotypes. In general
in the multilocus genotypes assignment, low genotype num-
bers are more B. frutescens-like and genotypes 1 to 3 and 7
are likely pure B. frutescens individuals. Higher numbered ge-
notypes are more B. arborescens-like and genotypes 34 to 37
are probably of pure B. arborescens individuals. The geno-
types that fall in the center of the distribution of Fig. 2 are
intermediate in LL score and most likely are hybrids and back-
crosses. Log-likely scores were not, however, geographically
assorted, and extreme, as well as intermediate LL scores, were
found at nearly all sites (Fig. 3). A linear regression of LL
genotype score vs. geography for the putatively B. 3 cubana
individuals results in an insignificant slope of 0.0051 with an
r2 5 0.0037 (Fig. 3).
very likely B. frutescens and unlikely B. arborescens to very portant to note that the misclassifications occurred when con-
unlikely B. frutescens and likely B. arborescens. The B. fru- sidering flower morphology alone—the least differentiated of
tescens individuals from outside of the hybrid zone (genotypes the morphological comparisons. All other misclassifications by
2, 3, and 7) corresponded to large B. frutescens LL values and the DFA were between B. frutescens and B. 3 cubana (six
small B. arborescens values (Table 3 and Fig. 2), supporting with leaf morphology alone, nine with flower morphology
the assertion that they are pure parental types. Morphologically alone, one with all morphological data). Interestingly, this is
putative pure B. frutescens found within the hybrid zone had consistent with the hybrid, B. 3 cubana, consisting of a larger
genotypes 1 to 3, and large B. frutescens-like LL and small B. portion of individuals backcrossed to B. frutescens than to B.
arborescens-like LL. Borrichia arborescens individuals from arborescens. Finally, although all individuals with high LL
outside the hybrid zone (i.e., Puerto Rico) had genotype 35, assignment values were of the appropriate morphology, not all
and LL scores, indicating clear B. arborescens-like genotypes. putative species assignments based on morphology were ex-
Individuals that were morphologically B. arborescens-like tremes in LL score. These results, when considered together,
within the zone had genotypes 34, 36, or 37 and similarly high suggest that morphological characters may not provide very
LL assignment to B. arborescens. Many genotypes had more accurate information on the identity of Borrichia species with-
moderate or nearly equal LL scores for both species assign- in the region of species overlap. This is particularly true when
ments, indicating that they are likely hybrids (center of the differentiating pure B. frutescens from hybrid plants. If mor-
graph in Fig. 2). These data clearly indicate that a considerable phological assignments are going to be made, these data clear-
amount of hybridization must be taking place in the Florida ly indicate that several morphological characters must be mea-
Keys. It also is clear that not all individuals in the Florida sured to accurately assess identity.
Keys are hybrids and that pure parental types are persisting There are several factors, such as the distribution of the
sympatrically with hybrids (Fig. 3). parental plants and how long hybridization has been taking
Not all markers were alternately fixed for species-specific place, that likely contribute to the genetic patterns observed in
alleles; however, our approach as outlined by Nason and Ells- the Florida Keys. While it is difficult to determine with cer-
trand (1993) allowed a robust estimation of genealogical clas- tainty how long the Borrichia species in the Florida Keys have
ses from the observed genotypic data. Maximum likelihood been hybridizing, it is possible that the plants may have been
estimates of genealogical class based on observed multilocus there for a long time. It has been estimated that the limestone
genotypes also indicated that a significant amount of hybrid- of south Florida has been exposed for from 5000 to 8000
ization and backcrossing is taking place. In the Florida Keys years, suggesting the potential for a long period of evolution
hybrid zone, most individuals were either pure parental types in the Florida Keys (Snyder et al., 1990). Thus the habitat may
or later generation hybrids (i.e., F2 or backcrosses; Table 4). have been available to these plants for up to 8000 years. If
Only about 7% of the individuals were of the F1 hybrid class. true, and in the absence of other evolutionary forces, hybrid-
This low frequency of F1 individuals has been observed often ization and random mating likely would have led to equilib-
in other plant hybrid systems and is believed to be character- rium conditions by now, and few if any pure parental individ-
istic of a system in which the formation of the initial hybrid uals would be expected in the Keys. This is clearly not the
generation (i.e., F1) is a difficult or an infrequent event (Arnold case.
et al., 1992, 1993; Nason et al., 1992) probably as a result of If the hybrid zone is relatively young, historic parental ge-
pre- and post-fertilization barriers between the parental spe- netic association would still exist and result in the observed
cies. Once this compatibility barrier is breached, however, fur- high frequency of parental types. Although there is some in-
ther crossings are less difficult and more likely (Arnold, 1997). dication that these Borrichia species have been sympatric for
Considering the cytonuclear disequilibrium analysis, however, some time, it is possible that they have not been hybridizing
the insignificant D2 value indicates that there does not seem for the duration of their sympatry. Semple and Semple (1977)
to be asymmetry in the direction of hybridization. Apparently suggest that hybridization has only recently occurred as a re-
then, the barrier to hybridization is equal regardless of which sult of disturbance in the Florida Keys and that less disturbed
species is the maternal or the paternal parent. In addition, the habitats tended to be occupied by only one of the parent spe-
maximum likelihood estimates of genotype classes indicate cies. Additionally, even if the hybrid zone is old in terms of
that backcrossing is a significant event in this hybrid zone. the number of years since hybridization began, it may be rel-
Unlike hybridization, backcrossing does not; however, appear atively young in terms of the number of generations that have
to be symmetrical with respect to parental species. Of the non- passed. These Borrichia species are highly clonal and invest
parental genealogical classes estimated in the constrained full a relatively small amount into reproductive structures (Semple
model, 55.4% of them are BP1 and none are BP2. Clearly, and Semple, 1977). Generation time for these plants is un-
fertilization between hybrids and B. frutescens is more easily known and is generally difficult to establish for clonal plants;
or frequently accomplished than with B. arborescens. It should however, vegetatively reproducing genets may persist for hun-
be noted, however, that, given the small sample size (53 hybrid dreds or thousands of years (Wolf et al., 2000). It is therefore
individuals), while backcrossing with B. arborescens clearly possible that what we are detecting is the early formation of
is less common, we cannot rule it out entirely. a hybrid zone. The few putatively F1 hybrid individuals iden-
The discriminant function analyses of the morphological tified also may be pointing to a young age for the hybrid zone
characters suggest that hybrid plants are more morphologically because at the onset of hybridization, only a minority of the
distinct from B. arborescens than they are from B. frutescens plants would have hybrid genotypes. This is not supported,
(Fig. 4). In all of the analyses, the B. arborescens cluster and however, by prevalent occurrence of later generation hybrids
group centroid were set farther apart from the B. frutescens and backcrosses. Given this and that suitable habitat likely has
and B. 3 cubana clusters and centroids than the latter two been available for quite some time, we believe that the hybrid
were from each other. Additionally, only four individuals clus- zone is not a recent creation but that other factors are main-
tering outside their groups involved B. arborescens. It is im- taining pure parentals and hybrids in sympatry.
November 2004] CATTELL AND KARL—INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDIZATION IN BORRICHIA 1765
If this were a geographically simple hybrid zone with a principle effects. First, if clonal propagation were the dominant
majority of pure parental genotypes at the extreme ends of the form of reproduction, the opportunity for hybridization
region of overlap and relatively few parental genotypes in the through necessarily sexual means would be reduced and the
center, then selection against hybrids at the extremes and/or resultant merging of the parental species would be slowed.
migration of pure parental individuals to the center could ac- Second, and more important here, allowing a significant con-
count for the observed genetic patterns. Selection against hy- tribution of both sexual and clonal reproduction might simul-
brid genotypes in a hybrid zone also could cause a reduction taneously produce frequent opportunities for hybridization
of heterozygotes and significant disequilibrium. Selection, while increasing the longevity of the parental individuals in
however, would have to be acting directly on the loci under the hybrid zone. Clonality also allows for the persistence and
study, or closely linked loci, because neutral alleles can diffuse growth of relatively uncommon, presumably difficult-to-create
through hybrid zones and parental genetic associations should F1 hybrids, increasing the likelihood of backcrossing and pro-
be disrupted by recombination (Arnold et al., 1987; Hewitt, duction of later generation hybrids. The FST values calculated
1988; Marchant et al., 1988). It is unlikely, however, that se- indicate that there is genetic differentiation between the three
lection is acting directly on the restriction site polymorphisms groups of plant types (pure parents and hybrid). The FST values
at the loci used here (see Karl and Avise, 1993, for a discus- also indicate that there is a greater degree of population dif-
sion of the neutrality of restriction site polymorphisms at sin- ferentiation between the parents than there is between both
gle-copy nuclear loci). Additionally, they could be linked to parents and the hybrid group, as expected with assortative mat-
loci under selection; however, this seems unlikely to be the ing. For the most part then, in spite of hybridization and back-
case simultaneously for four different nuclear loci, as well as crossing, genetic differentiation between the parental species
for a cytoplasmic one. is being maintained. Random mating between the plants in this
Migration from pure parental populations into a hybrid zone hybrid zone, therefore, seems unlikely. The population genetic
also can cause continued association of nuclear and cytoplas- patterns found suggest that the Florida Keys population likely
mic genotypes after long periods of hybridization by contin- is exhibiting positive assortative mating of the parental spe-
ually reintroducing the parental gene combinations into the cies. No data, however, are currently available regarding the
zone. In this study, there was no apparent association between mechanisms of assortative mating. Considerably more infor-
genotype LL score and geography throughout the hybrid zone. mation is needed on the specifics of the frequency of sexual
Individuals with genotype LL scores similar to those found in reproduction, mechanisms of pollination, longevity of clonal
both species in parapatry (i.e., putative pure parental types) units, and the geographic distribution and frequency of geno-
were observed at all sites along with ones that were clearly types to fully understand the evolutionary history of this com-
hybrids (Fig. 3). Individuals from throughout the range of LL plex region of hybridization.
scores were found at nearly all sites north to south, and linear
regression analysis of the LL scores of putative hybrid indi-
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3F6 TTC TTC TTC CTT CCC CGA TT CGA TGT TTT CGT TCA ACA GG
2D4 TGT AGG TGG GCT GAT CTA CT GTA CTG GAC AGA GCC ACC GT
6G3 TGC ACC CTA AAG CTA CCA CA CGT TCA AAG AGG CGA ATC AA
3B6 GCC TTG ATA CGG GAA TGT GT CAT TGG TAT CGT TTG ACC CC
11C3 TAT TCT ACG GCA GGG ATT GG CTG CGG GTT ACA TGT CAA TG