When hybrids repeat themselves, selection leaves a clearer signature
In two replicated contact zones between western Canadian spruce lineages, researchers used genome-wide data to compare how local environments and gene flow jointly shape patterns of differentiation and introgression. By contrasting a broad latitudinal transect (with gradual environmental change) against a steep elevational transect (with sharp topographic and climatic gradients), they report complex, spatially variable ancestry patterns—yet notably similar genome-wide signals of differentiation and adaptation across both transects—setting up a stronger test of where consistent directional introgression is most plausibly driven by selection rather than shared history, but the most informative details emerge when you look at how tract lengths and mixing dynamics differ across the two landscapes…
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