Hybridization produces novelty when the mapping of form to function is many to one

摘要

BackgroundEvolutionary biologists want to explain the origin of novel features and functions. Two recent but separate lines of research address this question. The first describes one possible outcome of hybridization, called transgressive segregation, where hybrid offspring exhibit trait distributions outside of the parental range. The second considers the explicit mapping of form to function and illustrates manifold paths to similar function (called many to one mapping, MTOM) when the relationship between the two is complex. Under this scenario, functional novelty may be a product of the number of ways to elicit a functional outcome (i.e., the degree of MTOM). We fuse these research themes by considering the influence of MTOM on the production of transgressive jaw biomechanics in simulated hybrids between Lake Malawi cichlid species.