Introgression, Phylogeography, and Genomic Species Cohesion in the Eastern North American White Oak Syngameon

Hybridization and interspecific gene flow play a substantial role in the evolution of plant taxa. The eastern North American white oak syngameon, a group of approximately 15 ecologically, morphologically and genomically distinguishable species, has long been recognised as a model system for studying introgressive hybridization in temperate trees. However, the prevalence, genomic context and environmental correlates of introgression in this system remain largely unknown. To assess introgression in the eastern North American white oak syngameon and population structure within the widespread Quercus macrocarpa, we conducted a rangewide survey of Q. macrocarpa and four sympatric eastern North American white oak species. Using a Hyb-Seq approach, we assembled a dataset of 3412 thinned single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 445 enriched target loci including 62 genes putatively associated with various ecological functions, as well as associated intronic regions and some off-target intergenic regions (not associated with the exons). Admixture analysis and hybrid class inference demonstrated species coherence despite hybridization and introgressive gene flow (due to backcrossing of F1s to one or both parents). Additionally, we recovered a genetic structure within Q. macrocarpa associated with latitude. Generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs) indicate that proximity to range edge predicts interspecific admixture, but rates of genetic differentiation do not appear to vary between putative functional gene classes. Our study suggests that gene flow between eastern North American white oak species may not be as rampant as previously assumed and that hybridization is most strongly predicted by proximity to a species' range margin.