Reticulate evolution: frequent introgressive hybridization among chinese hares (genus lepus) revealed by analyses of multiple mitochondrial and nuclear DNA loci

摘要

BackgroundInterspecific hybridization may lead to the introgression of genes and genomes across species barriers and contribute to a reticulate evolutionary pattern and thus taxonomic uncertainties. Since several previous studies have demonstrated that introgressive hybridization has occurred among some species within Lepus, therefore it is possible that introgressive hybridization events also occur among Chinese Lepus species and contribute to the current taxonomic confusion.