28.10.
The use of ancient DNA and museum collections to understand speciation and introgression in crows
Chyi Yin Gwee, LMU München
Advances in ancient DNA (aDNA) technologies have revolutionised our ability to extract and analyse highly degraded genetic material, providing direct insights into past evolutionary processes. By combining modern samples with bone specimens spanning the last 20,000 years from multiple museum and state collections, we investigated the evolutionary dynamics of the European hybrid zone between the all-black carrion crow (Corvus corone corone) and the grey-coated hooded crow (C. corone cornix). Our analyses provide direct evidence that this morphological hybrid zone has remained stable for at least 5,000 years. We identified key genes underlying the plumage divergence, which facilitated assortative mating. Yet beneath the apparent stability of this hybrid zone, the rest of the genome is near identical between the two forms, reflecting extensive introgression and increasing admixture in contemporary populations. Our study highlights the power of temporal datasets to elucidate evolutionary processes and underscores the influence of Pleistocene climatic oscillations on patterns of speciation.
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