Crossbreeding as an evolution booster

By Christian Sturmbauer und Konstantinos Tzivanopoulos University of Graz, Graz University of Technology together with an international research team discover new mechanisms of speciation. Animals that migrated or have been introduced in Central Europe - such as the Asian bush mosquito or the Asian ladybeetle - feel extremely comfortable in their new homes due to changing climatic conditions. It is possible that some newcomers will crossbreed with native species, provided that they are genetically compatible with a local species, as has happened for example between modern humans and the Neanderthals. After such an event, hybrids will continue to evolve under local environmental conditions. The new genes contributed by the foreign species provide new genetic combinations that can be beneficial and thus favoured by natural selection. Ultimately, this can lead to divergent populations and even new species that possess novel characteristics, in accordance with hybrid swarm theory. To identify the fundamental mechanisms behind this process, an international team of evolutionary biologists working with Professor Christian Sturmbauer at the University of Graz and Professor Axel Meyer at the University of Konstanz studied cichlids from Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.