Accounting for recombination rate variation improves inference of barrier loci and reveals the role of both natural and sexual selection in an incipient bird radiation

Clicks: 1
ID: 320068
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score — reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal

Ranked #242 of 244 articles by views in international journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology

Most read Least read

Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 244 in total.

Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet minted

Create a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.

5 SUSD one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Examining genomic patterns of differentiation across lineage pairs at different stages of the speciation continuum, in combination with recombination maps, can help disentangle the effects of linked and divergent selection and identify lineage-specific targets of selection that may act as barrier loci during speciation. Here, we apply this framework to genomic data from African and Indian Ocean bird species of the genus Zosterops (Zosteropidae) to identify candidate barrier loci between ecologically, phenotypically, and genetically distinct Reunion grey white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus) parapatric geographic forms. Using analyses that account for recombination rate variation, we show that putative targets of divergent selection are primarily located on the Z chromosome, except in comparisons between geographic forms that differ in their ecologies. Functional annotation revealed that candidate barrier loci between forms with similar environmental niches are associated with genes involved in song formation and immune function, whereas those between forms with different environmental niches are associated with adaptation to altitude, morphology, and song behaviour. Our results highlight the combined roles of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of reproductive barriers in this incipient species radiation.
Reference Key
openalex_W7167620674 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Maëva Gabrielli, Thibault Leroy, Camille Roux, Borja Milá, Christophe Thébaud, Benoît Nabholz
Journal international journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/evolut/qpag121
URL
Keywords Keywords not found

Citations

No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org

No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.