Additive and non-additive epigenetic signatures of natural hybridization between fish species with different mating systems

Waldir M. Berbel-Filho, George Pacheco, Mateus G. Lira, Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Sergio M.Q. Lima, Carlos M. Rodríguez-López, Jia Zhou, Sofia Consuegra

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hybridization is a major source of evolutionary innovation. In plants, epigenetic mechanisms can help to stabilize hybrid genomes and contribute to reproductive isolation, but the relationship between genetic and epigenetic changes in animal hybrids is unclear. We analysed the relationship between genetic background and methylation patterns in natural hybrids of two genetically divergent fish species with different mating systems, Kryptolebias hermaphroditus (self-fertilizing) and K. ocellatus (outcrossing). Co-existing parental species displayed highly distinct genetic (SNPs) and methylation patterns (37,000 differentially methylated cytosines). Hybrids had predominantly intermediate methylation patterns (88.5% of the sites) suggesting additive effects, as expected from hybridization between genetically distant species. The large number of differentially methylated cytosines between hybrids and parental species (n = 5,800) suggests that hybridization may play a role in increasing genetic and epigenetic variation. Although most of the observed epigenetic variation was additive and had a strong genetic component, we also found a small percentage of non-additive, potentially stochastic, methylation differences that might act as an evolutionary bet-hedging strategy and increase fitness under environmental instability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2356-2365
Number of pages10
JournalEpigenetics
Volume17
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • DNA methylation
  • epigenetic diversity
  • mangrove killifish
  • outcrossing
  • self-fertilization

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

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