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The Journal of the Czech Botanical Society Copyright © Czech Botanical Society Pí¹ová S., Hroudová Z., Chumová Z. & Fér T. Ecological hybrid speciation in central-European species of Bolboschoenus: genetic and morphological evaluation Preslia 89: 17–39, 2017. Article published online: 21 Feb 2017. DOI: 10.23855/preslia.2017.017 Abstract Divergent natural selection is known to facilitate speciation in many taxa. The genus Bolboschoenus (Cyperaceae) is a model group for investigating ecological and homoploid hybrid speciation. Four taxa of Bolboschoenus occur in central Europe: the halophyte B. maritimus and glycophytes B. laticarpus, B. planiculmis and B. yagara. These species differ in their ecological niches. Such ecological and/or geographical isolation is critical for homoploid hybrid speciation. The determination of species of Bolboschoenus is based on morphological characters of the inflorescence and on achene shape and anatomy. On the basis of its intermediate morphology, chromosome number and ecological amplitude B. laticarpus is thought to be a hybrid. In order to determine the validity of morphological species and the possible hybrid origin of B. laticarpus we used amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) as molecular markers and compared different genetic groups defined using STRUCTURE analysis with morphological data. The morphological classification of central-European species of Bolboschoenus was confirmed. Plants of heterogeneous genotypes were also found to be intermediate individuals resulting from spontaneous hybridization. Hybrid origin of B. laticarpus, which is genetically and morphologically intermediate between B. yagara and B. planiculmis, was elucidated. Inflorescence characters were less important for determining species than anatomical characters of achenes (widths of the exocarp and mesocarp).Keywords: AFLP, Bolboschoenus, central Europe, hybridization, model-based clustering, morphometrics, speciation Full citation: Pí¹ová S., Hroudová Z., Chumová Z. & Fér T. (2017): Ecological hybrid speciation in central-European species of Bolboschoenus: genetic and morphological evaluation. – Preslia 89: 17–39. Back to Volume 89, Issue 1
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