Meeting Abstract

S3.11  Tuesday, Jan. 4  Next-generation sequencing and population genomics: an outlook for the future of speciation studies ROCHA, Luiz A; Univ. of Texas at Austin rocha@mail.utexas.edu

The genic view of speciation (GVS) states that speciation is driven by processes at the gene (not the individual) level, that genomes are not cohesive, but porous, and that gene flow during speciation is possible. According to the GVS, under a speciation with gene flow scenario, the genes that promote reproductive isolation and those that are influenced by disruptive selection should start diverging first, whereas neutral genes should flow freely between emerging species, generating a characteristic heterogeneity of genetic divergences among different regions of the genome. When speciation is driven entirely by isolation, the genomes of the incipient species should behave as a cohesive unit, and all genes should start diverging at approximately the same time. Thus, the GVS predicts that speciation with gene flow leaves a distinct and unique genomic signature that can be differentiated from that of allopatric speciation. These predictions, combined with the lowering costs of next-generation (Roche/454) sequencing technologies, open the door to questions never before approached in studies of marine speciation. Here I identify cases in which there is a large discrepancy between DNA loci divergences in species pairs separated by the Isthmus of Panama versus pairs where speciation with gene flow is likely to have occurred, providing support for the GVS and genomic evidence for speciation with gene flow.