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Intra- and interspecific hybridization in invasive Siberian elm

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Abstract

Hybridization creates unique allele combinations which can facilitate the evolution of invasiveness. Frequent interspecific hybridization between the Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila, and native elm species has been detected in the Midwestern United States, Italy and Spain. However, Ulmus pumila also occurs in the western United States and Argentina, regions where no native elm species capable of hybridizing with it occurs. We examined whether inter- or intraspecific hybridization could be detected in these regions. Nuclear markers and the program STRUCTURE helped detect interspecific hybridization and determine the population genetic structure in both the native and the two non-native ranges. Chloroplast markers identified sources of introduction into these two non-native ranges. No significant interspecific hybridization was detected between U. pumila and U. rubra in the western United States or between U. pumila and U. minor in Argentina and vice versa. However, the genetic findings supported the presence of intraspecific hybridization and high levels of genetic diversity in both non-native ranges. The evidence presented for intraspecific hybridization in the current study, combined with reports of interspecific hybridization from previous studies, identifies elm as a genus where both inter- and intraspecific hybridization may occur and help maintain high levels of genetic diversity potentially associated with invasiveness.

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Acknowledgements

Al Schneider, S. Hegi, R. Peterson, R. Sivinski, J. Smith, T. Frates and B. King directed us to populations and provided hospitality during our field trip in the western United States. Ricardo Suarez collected leaf material in Argentina and Ximing Zhang, Zhenying Huang, B. Oyuntsetseg, L. Yakovchenko in Asia. Denny Walther provided samples from his former research and P. Gebauer, K. Reichel, V. Debus and U. Pietzarka provided samples of U. minor. We also thank A. Suchorukow for providing the sample from the Moscow State University herbarium. Birgit Müller, C. Wypior and E. Gustin contributed to the microsatellite lab work.

Funding

This work was funded by the “Graduiertenförderung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalts” and the DAAD to H. Hirsch, the National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship to J.E. Zalapa (NSF award #0409651), the USDA-ARS to J. Brunet and the German Academic Exchange Service to M. Hartmann.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    Heidi Hirsch

  2. Institute of Biology - Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Heidi Hirsch, Carolin Kleindienst & Isabell Hensen

  3. Agricultural Research Service, Vegetable Crops Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Johanne Brunet & Juan E. Zalapa

  4. Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Johanne Brunet

  5. Department of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Juan E. Zalapa & Brandon Schlautman

  6. Institute of Ecology, Centre of Methods, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University, Scharnhorststraße 1, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany

    Henrik von Wehrden

  7. Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Savoyen Strasse 1, Vienna, 1160, Austria

    Henrik von Wehrden

  8. Herbarium PRC and Department of Botany, Charles University in Prague, Benátská 2, 12800, Prague, Czech Republic

    Matthias Hartmann

  9. Institute of Cereal Crops Improvement (ICCI), Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plants, Tel Aviv University, Britannia 04, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Evsey Kosman

  10. Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz, Am Museum 1, 02826, Goerlitz, Germany

    Karsten Wesche

  11. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Karsten Wesche & Isabell Hensen

  12. Centro de Ecología y Recursos Naturales Renovables – Dr. Ricardo Luti (CERNAR – FCEFyN – UNC) and Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas (IIByT – CONICET – UNC), Av. Vélez Sarsfield 1611, X5016GCA, Córdoba, Argentina

    Daniel Renison

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  1. Heidi Hirsch
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Hirsch, H., Brunet, J., Zalapa, J.E. et al. Intra- and interspecific hybridization in invasive Siberian elm. Biol Invasions 19, 1889–1904 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-017-1404-6

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