Ploidy as a leaky reproductive barrier: mechanisms, rates and evolutionary significance of interploidy gene flow.

Background: Whole-genome duplication (polyploidization) is a dominant force in sympatric speciation, particularly in plants. Genome doubling instantly poses a barrier to gene flow owing to the strong crossing incompatibilities between individuals differing in ploidy. The strength of the barrier, however, varies from species to species and recent genetic investigations revealed cases of rampant interploidy introgression in multiple ploidy-variable species.

Stability in the South, Turbulence Toward the North: Evolutionary History of (Brassicaceae) Revealed by Phylogenomic and Climatic Modelling Data.

The Balkan Peninsula played an important role in the evolution of many Mediterranean plants and served as a major source for post-Pleistocene colonisation of central and northern Europe. Its complex geo-climatic history and environmental heterogeneity significantly influenced spatiotemporal diversification and resulted in intricate phylogeographic patterns. To explore the evolutionary dynamics and phylogeographic patterns within the widespread eastern Mediterranean and central European species , we used a combination of phylogenomic (restriction-site associated DNA sequencing, RADseq) and phylogenetic (sequences of the plastid marker F) data as well as species distribution models generated for the present and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).