Evolutionär betydelse och genomisk arkitektur av introgression

Introgression is an important evolutionary process that allows the transfer of adaptive genetic variants across species boundaries and facilitates the emergence of biological diversity. Yet, the genomic content and architecture of introgression remain poorly understood, particularly in mammals.  I will study a diverse primate group (guenons) that is renowned for its phenotypic and karyotypic variation. The presence of multiple independent ancient hybridization events in guenons offers the opportunity to identify key functional and structural characteristics of introgression and to investigate its repeatability. I will rely on an extensive dataset of whole genome sequences and assemblies from 22 guenon species to identify functional and structural features of introgression. To further complement the insights obtained from ancient introgression events, I will turn to an active guenon hybrid zone between two species with different karyotypes. I will contrast the content and genomic architecture of ancient and ongoing introgression to identify characteristics that may promote the retention of introgressed material.  Using admixture mapping, I will infer the genetic bases of morphological and reproductive traits that may contribution to the maintenance of species integrity despite gene flow.  This study will significantly advance our understanding of the importance of genomic architecture and functional content in adaptive introgression in a comparative context.