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Related Concept Videos

Genetics of Speciation02:16

Genetics of Speciation

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.The genetics of speciation involves the different traits or isolating mechanisms preventing gene exchange, leading to reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can be due to reproductive barriers that have effects either before or after the formation of a zygote. Pre-zygotic mechanisms prevent fertilization from occurring, and post-zygotic mechanisms...
Formation of Species01:31

Formation of Species

Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.Allopatric SpeciationIn allopatric speciation, gene flow between two populations of the same species is prevented by a geographic barrier, like...
Hybrid Zones02:29

Hybrid Zones

Hybrid zones are narrow regions where two closely related species interact, mate, and produce hybrids. Relative to either parent species, hybrids may possess distinct phenotypic or genetic differences that impact their survival and reproductive success. The genetic variances introduced by hybridization influence species diversity and speciation processes within the hybrid zone.Gene flow and natural selection are evolutionary mechanisms that shape the outcome of a hybrid zone. Gene flow...
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

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Related Experiment Video

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A Noninvasive Hair Sampling Technique to Obtain High Quality DNA from Elusive Small Mammals
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Published on: March 13, 2011

Speciation genetics: search for the missing snowball.

Daven C Presgraves1

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, 14627, USA. dvnp@mail.rochester.edu

Current Biology : CB
|December 22, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Genetic incompatibilities between species increase exponentially as they diverge, a phenomenon known as the snowball effect. New genetic analyses provide the first empirical evidence supporting this speciation theory.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Genetics
  • Speciation research

Background:

  • Species divergence is theorized to increase genetic incompatibilities.
  • These incompatibilities can lead to hybrid sterility or inviability.
  • A faster-than-linear increase, or snowball effect, is predicted.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide the first empirical evidence for the genetic snowball effect in speciation.
  • To test theoretical predictions about the rate of accumulating genetic incompatibilities.

Main Methods:

  • Two independent genetic analyses were performed.
  • Data were analyzed to quantify genetic incompatibilities between diverging species.

Main Results:

  • The study found empirical support for the predicted snowball effect.
  • The number of genetic incompatibilities grows faster than linearly with species divergence.

Conclusions:

  • The findings support the snowball model of speciation.
  • This provides a foundational understanding of reproductive isolation mechanisms.