Unravelling the Web of Life: Incomplete Lineage Sorting and Hybridisation as Primary Mechanisms Over Polyploidisation...

The traditional Tree of Life (ToL) model is increasingly challenged by the Web of Life (WoL) paradigm, which offers a more accurate depiction of organismal phylogeny, particularly in light of the incongruences often observed between gene and species trees. However, the absence of a standardised method for resolving evolutionary mechanisms - such as Incomplete Lineage Sorting (ILS), hybridisation, introgression, polyploidisation, and whole-genome duplication - remains a significant obstacle in defining the WoL. Characterised by extensive hybridisation events, the pear genus Pyrus provides an ideal model for exploring these complexities. In this study, we present a Step-by-Step Exclusion (SSE) approach for investigating the evolutionary pathways of Pyrus, based on Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and Deep Genome Skimming (DGS) data, and our results demonstrate that: (1) ILS, rather than polyploidisation, plays a dominant role in the origination of Pyrus; (2) the two subgenera of Pyrus followed independent evolutionary paths, influenced by geographical barriers formed through the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and increased aridity in Central Asia; (3) both ILS and hybridisation have driven the diversification of subg. Pashia, while hybridisation alone has shaped the reticulate evolution of subg. Pyrus; (4) the establishment of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty facilitated genetic exchange between subg. Pyrus and subg. Pashia. The SSE approach offers a versatile framework for studying the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the WoL paradigm.