Hybridization leads to sensory repertoire expansion in a gynogenetic fish, the Amazon molly (poecilia formosa): a test of the hybrid-sensory expansion hypothesis.

Expansions in sensory systems usually require processes such as gene duplication and divergence, and thus evolve slowly. We evaluate a novel mechanism leading to rapid sensory repertoire expansion: hybrid-sensory expansion (HSE). HSE occurs when two species with differently tuned sensory systems form a hybrid, bringing together alleles from each of the parental species.