Admixture Affects the Rate and Repeatability of Experimental Adaptation to a Stressful Environment in Callosobruchus maculatus.

Abstract

Hybridisation and admixture are common in nature and can serve as important sources of adaptive potential by generating novel genotype combinations and phenotypes. However, hybrid incompatibilities can also reduce hybrid fitness. Given the pervasiveness of admixture and its potential role in facilitating adaptation, understanding how admixture influences the rate and repeatability of evolution is critical for advancing our understanding of evolutionary dynamics. Yet, few studies have examined how patterns of evolutionary repeatability in admixed lineages are shaped by strong ecological pressures. In this experiment, we evaluated patterns of evolution and repeatability in admixed and non-admixed cowpea seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) adapting to a novel, stressful host: lentil. Specifically, we asked (1) whether admixture facilitates adaptation to lentil, (2) whether repeatability is greater in admixed or non-admixed lineages, and (3) to what extent repeatability in admixed lineages is driven by selection on globally adaptive alleles versus epistatic effects and hybrid incompatibilities. We found that admixture facilitated adaptation to lentil, and evolutionary rescue-defined as adaptation that prevents population extinction-occurred in all lineages. Evolutionary repeatability was highest in two admixed lineages, though evident across all lineages. Adaptation to lentil appeared largely driven by selection on globally adaptive alleles. Nevertheless, even under conditions of evolutionary rescue in a marginal environment, the purging of hybrid incompatibilities contributed substantially to repeated evolution in admixed lineages.