Is one gene sufficient to determine parental genome dosage in polyploid hybrid species?
Despite many new advances in DNA sequencing, one approach—‘genome skimming’—remains a simple yet valuable tool for gathering evolutionary data, especially in recalcitrant taxa that have large and/or repetitive genomes. In this study, we leveraged genome skimming to explore patterns of nuclear genome inheritance in the polyploid hybrid species Myriopteris yavapensis, a well-studied lineage of desert dwelling ferns. Polyploidy, also known as whole genome duplication, occurs when an organism has more than two full copies of its genome in each cell nucleus. Polyploidy often accompanies hybridization. When a hybrid is derived from parent organisms that are distantly related, mispairing of homologous chromosomes can lead to failed cell divisions and polyploidy can occur. The Myriopteris yavapensis complex is an excellent model for studying genome dosage in hybrid plants. Previous studies used evidence from one nuclear gene (gapCp) to infer the dosage of parental genomes in the polyploid hybrid Myriopteris yavapensis. In this study, we focused on M. yavapensis to test whether the number of alleles detected from each parent genome at the gapCp locus by previous studies is consistent across multiple nuclear loci in the hybrid by utilizing genome-skimming data to analyze parental genome dosage.