DOI: 10.1126/science.1137729
, 910 (2007);317Science
et al.Loren H. Rieseberg,
Plant Speciation
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Plant Speciation
Loren H. Rieseberg1,2
* and John H. Willis3
Like the formation of animal species, plant speciation is characterized by the evolution of barriers to
genetic exchange between previously interbreeding populations. Prezygotic barriers, which impede
mating or fertilization between species, typically contribute more to total reproductive isolation in plants
than do postzygotic barriers, in which hybrid offspring are selected against. Adaptive divergence in
response to ecological factors such as pollinators and habitat commonly drives the evolution of prezygotic
barriers, but the evolutionary forces responsible for the development of intrinsic postzygotic barriers are
virtually unknown and frequently result in polymorphism of incompatibility factors within species.
Polyploid speciation, in which the entire genome is duplicated, is particularly frequent in plants, perhaps
because polyploid plants often exhibit ecological differentiation, local dispersal, high fecundity, perennial
life history, and self-fertilization or asexual reproduction. Finally, species richness in plants is correlated
with many biological and geohistorical factors, most of which increase ecological opportunities.
P
lants provide extraordinary opportunities
for studying speciation. Flowering plants
are especially speciose, trailing only
insects in named species diversity. Much of this
diversification has occurred recently, creating
spectacular examples of adaptive radiation and
of speciation in action (table S1). Plants are
mostly sessile but vary dramatically in mating
system, ploidy level, mode of dispersal, and life
history, aiding efforts to understand the contribution
of various ecological and evolutionary
factors to speciation.
What Is a Plant Species?
The definition of a species in plants has been a
major impediment to botanical studies of speciation;
botanists have often expressed doubt that
plant species even exist, because of frequent
reports of interspecific hybrids (1) and because
phenotypic variation in some plant groups does
not assort readily into discrete categories (2).
These concerns were amplified by claims that
gene flow within many plant species was so low
that populations rather than species were the most
inclusive reproductive units (2, 3).
Recent work allays these concerns. Analyses
of morphometric data from more than 200 plant
genera indicate that discrete clusters of morphologically
similar individuals occur within most
sexual plant lineages, that these clusters correspond
closely to groups with significant postpollination
reproductive isolation, and that
interspecific hybridization is not the primary
cause of poorly defined species boundaries (4).
Molecular population genetic studies imply that
migration rates within plant species are higher
than earlier direct estimates and do not differ, on
average, from those of animals (5). Theoretical
(6) and empirical work further indicates that even
in species with low gene flow, populations may
evolve in concert through the spread of advantageous
alleles (7).
Although many plant species are held together
by gene flow and kept apart from other
species by reproductive barriers, there are exceptions.
For example, some plants reproduce without
sex. These asexual taxa are composed of
clonal hybrid genotypes that fill the phenotypic
space between their sexual parental species (table
S1). Because sexual reproduction is infrequent in
such species, it is difficult to discuss their evolution
in terms of sexual isolation and speciation. In
contrast, self-fertilizing (selfing) species often
maintain genetic and phenotypic cohesion (4)
because they have higher within-species gene
flow than previously hypothesized (8), and their
restricted outcrossing (exchange of pollen between
individuals) impedes interspecific hybridization.
Reproductive isolation between species
may be incomplete, however, particularly in
groups that have recently undergone multiple
speciation events or those that have long
generation times. This incomplete isolation may
result in some gene flow between groups that are
otherwise well-defined species (table S1).
Reproductive Isolation
Reproductive isolation is not the proximal cause
of diversification; this is the province of diversifying
selection and genetic drift. However, reproductive
isolation can facilitate the accumulation
of genetic differences between groups of populations,
thereby sharpening boundaries between
them and permitting adaptive traits to move closer
to their fitness optima. This does not require
absolute isolation. Rather, any reduction in the
effective migration rate facilitates divergence,
which reduces effective migration rates even
further. The resulting feedback loop, given
enough time, usually leads to complete genetic
isolation.
Multiple reproductive barriers isolate most
plant species. These include prepollination barriers
that limit the transfer of pollen from individuals
of one species to stigmas of other species.
Several prepollination barriers­­ecogeographic,
mechanical, and temporal­­are found in animal
species, whereas pollinator isolation is exclusively
associated with plant speciation. Other
barriers, such as an advantage of conspecific
pollen in fertilizing eggs compared with nonconspecific
pollen (conspecific pollen precedence)
and the failure of nonconspecific pollen
to fertilize eggs (gametic incompatibilities), act
after pollination but before fertilization, resulting
in postpollination, prezygotic isolation. A final
set of barriers, also found in animals, act after
REVIEW
1
Department of Botany, University of British Columbia,
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. 2
Department of Biology,
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. 3
Department
of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708,
USA.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
Lriesebe@interchange.ubc.ca
C
A
B
Inviable gametesViable gametes
Reciprocal translocation
Heterozygote for translocation
aabb
Aabb
AAbb aaBB
aaBb
aa
A1a
A1A1 A2A2
aA2
AaBb A1A2
Fig. 1. Genetics of hybrid incompatibilities. (A)
Example of a typical chromosomal rearrangement
in plants, showing loss of fertility in heterozygotes
because 50% of gametes are unbalanced genetically
and inviable. (B) Classic two-locus BDM
incompatibility in which new mutations are
established at alternate loci and without loss of
fitness in geographically isolated populations, but
which are incompatible in hybrids. (C) Single-locus
BDM incompatibility in which new mutations are
established at the same locus and without loss of
fitness in geographically isolated populations, but
which are incompatible in hybrids.
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fertilization: hybrid inviability, sterility, and the
failure or reduction in successful reproduction in
subsequent generations (hybrid breakdown).
These postzygotic barriers may be a by-product
of changes in the internal genetic environment
(intrinsic isolation) or in the external ecological
environment (extrinsic isolation). Current challenges
are to estimate the relative contribution of
different reproductive barriers in limiting gene
flow among contemporary populations and to determine
the order and speed with which they arose.
All else being equal, early-acting reproductive
barriers will contribute more to isolation than lateacting
barriers (9). For example, the production of
hybrid seeds in artificial crosses and reductions in
the fertility offirst-generation hybrids are commonly
tested in the greenhouse. Cross-compatibility
data (4) reveals that hybrid fertility reduction is
the slightly stronger of the two barriers. However,
because hybrid seed production acts before reductions
in fertility, reduced hybrid seed production
actually would be expected to contribute
about 75% and hybrid sterility just 25% of the
total isolation caused by these two barriers.
Unfortunately, only a few studies provide
comprehensive estimates of isolation between
pairs of sibling species (table S1). In these, the
cumulative effects of many reproductive barriers
lead to almost complete isolation. Early-acting
reproductive barriers such as ecogeographic,
pollinator, and mating system isolation are most
important (table S1 and fig. S1), whereas lateacting
postzygotic barriers contribute very little
to isolation. Ecogeographic isolation has long
been viewed as the most important reproductive
barrier in plants (10), and its preeminence has
been confirmed by numerous reciprocal transplant
studies showing differences in habitat
preferences among closely related species or
subspecies (Table 1). Pollinator and mating
system isolation are less frequent, with the former
arising when the focal species is numerically
dominant but does not fully use the array of
available animal pollinators (11).
It is difficult to determine the order of reproductive
barrier evolution. Indirect evidence
from analyses of patterns of reproductive isolation
suggests that prepollination barriers often
arise first. For example, 19% of 1234 interspecific
cross combinations (most from rapidly radiating
lineages isolated by ecological barriers)
failed to show evidence of cross-incompatibility
or intrinsic postzygotic isolation (4). Intrinsic
postzyotic barriers may arise first in polyploid
species that are intersterile with their diploid
progenitors but that fail to exhibit ecological
differences (table S1). Likewise, intrinsic postzygotic
barriers may sometimes arise before ecological
barriers (other than mating system
isolation) in selfing species (Table 1).
We know surprisingly little about the speed of
plant speciation, although studies of contemporary
evolution imply that reproductive barriers
can arise rapidly. For example, grass populations
exposed to different fertilizer treatments or to
mine tailings exhibit both temporal (flowering
time) and habitat isolation (seeds transplanted
between sites have reduced survival) (table S1).
Interestingly, flowering time divergence is
greatest at the boundary between habitats in both
experiments, a pattern suggestive of reinforcement,
where selection against unfit hybrids has
enhanced prezygotic isolation. These studies of
speciation in action illustrate the plausibility of
reinforcement and sympatric speciation, both of
which are increasingly well supported by theory
(12) and empirical work (table S1).
Although individual reproductive barriers can
arise rapidly, most plant species remain separated
by numerous barriers, which implies that complete
speciation typically requires many thousands
of generations. The main exceptions to this
are hybrid and polyploid speciation. Fully
isolated polyploid species may arise in one or
two generations, and diploid or homoploid hybrid
species may achieve isolation in as few as 60
generations (13).
Genetics of Isolation
Genetic analyses provide information on the
numbers and kinds of genetic changes underlying
reproductive barriers, as well as on the evolutionary
forces responsible for their origin. Studies
of pollinator isolation have shown, for example,
that major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) sometimes
underlie shifts in the animals that pollinate
plants (pollination syndrome) (table S1) and
changes in pollinator preferences in the field
(Table 1). In contrast, two studies of mating
system isolation detected many smaller genetic
changes (table S1). These different architectures
might be explained by the fact that many intermediate
pollinator syndromes are maladaptive
(e.g., red flowers lacking a nectar reward are unattractive
to both birds and bees) and favor larger
genetic steps, whereas small increases in selfing
rates may be favored if inbreeding depression
costs are not prohibitive (14). Analyses of the
direction of QTL effects imply that most traits
contributing to prepollination isolation diverged
through directional selection; as predicted for
adaptive phenotypes, QTL effects for these traits
are mostly in the same direction as the parental
differences (15). QTL effects are predicted to vary
in direction (i.e., have opposing effects) for traits
not under consistent directional selection (16).
Recent genetic analyses of prezygotic and
extrinsic postzygotic barriers associated with discrete
habitat differences are particularly informative
because many of the studies have been performed
in the field. This makes it possible to estimate the
Table 1. Case studies of plant speciation.
Topic Taxa studied Conclusions Ref.
Reproductive
isolation
Gilia capitata ssp.
capitata and G. c.
ssp. chamissonis
Local adaptation of interfertile
subspecies to different habitats restricts
successful migration and gene flow.
(48)
Arctic Draba Three self-fertilizing morphological
species each appears to comprise
thousands of cryptic biological species.
(49)
Genetics of
isolation
Mimulus lewisii and
M. cardinalis
Allele increasing petal carotenoid
concentration reduced bee visitation by
80%; allele increasing nectar production
doubled hummingbird visitation.
(50)
Lycopersicon
hirsutum and
L. pimpinellifolium
Tomato lines with resistance gene (Cf-2)
from L. pimpinellifolium exhibit
autonecrosis of mature leaves, but no
autonecrosis observed when
complementary gene (RC3) from S.
pimpinellifolium also introduced.
(51)
Hybrid and
polyploid
speciation
Helianthus
anomalus, H.
deserticola, and H.
paradoxus
Three diploid species arisen via
hybridization from same two parental
species. Karyotypically divergent
hybrids colonized extreme habitats
through selection on transgressive traits
(Fig. 2).
(52)
Brassica napus Chromosomal rearrangement after
polyploidization responsible for
flowering time divergence among
synthetic polyploid lineages.
(53)
Factors
affecting
species richness
Angiosperms Acquisition of nectar spurs in wide
variety of plants correlated with
increased species diversity.
(44)
Andean Lupinus Most rapid species radiation in plants
driven by ecological opportunities
afforded by uplift of Andes.
(54)
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strength of selection on traits and QTLs that contribute
to habitat isolation. Studies have shown, for
example, that the strength of selection on QTLs
that contribute to habitat isolation is sufficient to
permit speciation in the presence of gene flow, that
hybrid inviability may arise as a by-product of
habitat selection, and that interspecific hybridization
can facilitate the exchange of adaptive alleles
between species (table S1).
Genetic studies of postpollination, prezygotic
isolation have focused on the relationship
between self-incompatibility (SI) mechanisms,
which enforce outcrossing in many hermaphroditic
plants, and interspecific incompatibility.
This interest stems from early observations that
self-compatible species are more compatible in
interspecific crosses than are SI species, implying
that SI may contribute to both intra- and interspecific
incompatibilities. This was confirmed by
detection of a QTL for interspecific incompatibility
that colocalizes with the SI locus, as
well as observations that crosses between selfcompatible
species fail after transformation with
a SI gene from a self-incompatible species (table
S1). Diversification of genes that contribute to SI
appears to result from frequency-dependent
selection (17). Interestingly, other plant reproductive
proteins appear to be under positive
selection as well, including candidates for speciesspecific
recognition between pollen and stigma
(table S1).
Intrinsic postzygotic barriers offer special
challenges to genetic analyses because the phenotypes
of interest (hybrid sterility and inviability)
impede genetic study and lack obvious
candidate genes for functional analyses (see
below, however). Intrinsic postzygotic isolation
may be caused by chromosomal rearrangements
and/or changes in genes (Fig. 1). Population
genetic theory minimizes the importance of
strongly underdominant chromosomal rearrangements
(those that reduce the fitness of heterozygotes)
because their negative effects on fitness
should prevent them from becoming established,
except in small, inbred populations. Weakly underdominant
rearrangements are more easily
established but contribute little to reproductive
isolation. In contrast, the Bateson-DobzhanskyMuller
(BDM) model accounts for the accumulation
of interspecific incompatibilities in genes
without loss of fitness (Fig. 1). Briefly, as a lineage
diverges, geographically isolated or neighboring
allopatric populations may accumulate independent
mutations. These mutations are compatible
with the ancestral genotype but are incompatible
when combined. BDM incompatibilities generally
involve two or more loci, although it is
theoretically possible for BDM incompatibilities
to result from the allopatric accumulation of
independent mutations at a single locus (Fig. 1).
Despite theoretical doubts about their importance
in speciation, chromosomal rearrangements
often contribute to the sterility of hybrid plants
(18, 19). Unlike Drosophila (in which hybrid
sterility is mostly due to BDM incompatibilities),
sterile plant hybrids often recover fertility after
chromosomal doubling (18). This is expected if
chromosomal rearrangements are the cause of
sterility, because chromosomal doubling furnishes
an exact homolog for each chromosome,
whereas doubling should not affect BDM
incompatibilities. Microchromosomal rearrangements
such as the gain and loss of duplicate
genes are more frequent than previously suspected
and may lead to hybrid incompatibilities
with no loss of fitness in the diverging lineages
(20). Finally, hybrid sterility in plants frequently
maps to chromosomal rearrangements (21),
although whether the cause is chromosomal underdominance
or BDM loci that have accumulated
within the rearrangements is often unclear.
The reduced recombination associated with
chromosomal rearrangements can facilitate the
accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities in these
regions (19, 22) or expedite the establishment of
rearrangements in the first place (23).
BDM hybrid sterility in plants may be under
simple or complex genetic control. However,
fewer loci contribute to hybrid sterility in plants
than in Drosophila, and there appears to be no
difference in the numbers of pollen (male) versus
seed (female) incompatibilities, perhaps because
plants largely lack differentiated sex chromosomes
(24). In addition, cytoplasmic male sterility
(CMS), which results from an incompatibility
between the plant's nuclear genome and its cytoplasm,
is frequently reported in intra- and interspecific
plant hybrids, but not in animal hybrids
(25). CMS is under frequency-dependent selection
in hermaphrodite-biased populations, which
predominate in plants, but under strong negative
selection if there are separate male and female
sex morphs. CMS is caused by aberrant,
frequently chimeric, mitochondrial genes in all
examples characterized at the molecular level
(26). CMS phenotypes are rescued by nuclearencoded,
mitochondrial-targeted genes that restore
fertility (Rf genes). With the exception of
Rf2 from maize, all cloned Rf genes are members
of the pentatricopeptide repeat gene family
(PPR), an unusually large gene family in plants
(441 genes in Arabidopsis) that controls organelle
gene expression. Although the molecular
evolution of Rf genes is unknown, they are likely
to be involved in coevolutionary chases with
CMS as a result of genetic conflict between
cytoplasmic and nuclear genes. These evolutionary
dynamics may reduce the long-term effectiveness
of CMS as a species barrier, because the
same evolutionary forces that cause the spread of
CMS within species could facilitate the introgression
of CMS and restorers across species
boundaries.
BDM factors also can cause hybrid weakness
or inviability. Hybrid weakness is often manifested
as necrosis in developing seedlings or
adult plant tissue, similar to the phenotype of
pathogen attacks (27). These observations imply
that hybrid weakness may result from changes in
pathogen resistance genes (Table 1), which
diverge in response to selection pressure exerted
by pathogens. More studies are needed to determine
the frequency of this mechanism for hybrid
weakness in interspecific crosses and to elucidate
other mechanisms of hybrid inviability.
A final emerging difference between plants
and animals (or at least Drosophila) is that most
BDM incompatibilities characterized in plants
are polymorphic within species (27­29) (Table
1). This is consistent with an origin of BDM
incompatibilities through frequency-dependent
selection, local adaptation, or drift. However, it
also implies that BDM incompatibilities are
X
Species 1
+ + + ­ Species
2
­ ­ ­ ++
F2 hybrid
++ +++
F2 hybrid
++ ++F2
hybrid
+­ ­ ­ F2
hybrid
­ ­ ­ ­ Fig.
2. Genetic basis of transgressive segregation showing how segregating hybrids can combine plus
and minus alleles from parental species, thereby generating extreme phenotypes or adaptations to
extreme habitats.
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rarely the cause of speciation in plants, because
they correlate poorly with species boundaries and
typically make small contributions to total
isolation.
Hybrid and Polyploid Speciation
Although most studies of speciation focus on
how lineages diverge, speciation is not always
about divergence. Indeed, a substantial fraction
of speciation events in plants involves the
reunion of divergent genes and genomes through
sexual hybridization. There are two kinds of
hybrid speciation: homoploid and polyploid.
Homoploid hybrid speciation refers to the origin
of a new hybrid lineage without a change in
chromosome number, whereas polyploid hybrid
speciation involves the full duplication of a
hybrid genome (allopolyploidy). Polyploids not
of hybrid origin are autopolyploids.
Homoploid hybrid speciation is rarer than
polyploid speciation for two reasons. First,
homoploid hybrid species have strongly reduced
fitness in early generation hybrids as selection
eliminates incompatibilities. In contrast, polyploid
species need not have low fertility during
intermediate stages. Second, genome duplication
protects the genetic integrity of newly derived
polyploids, but no such barrier prevents homoploid
hybrids from back-crossing with their
parental species. In addition to these biological
difficulties, homoploid hybrid species are technically
challenging to detect because they often lack
diagnostic features, such as a change in chromosome
number. So far, there are 15 to 20 good
examples in the literature (30), but more are likely
to be discovered with the widespread application
of genomic tools to natural plant populations (31).
Homoploid hybrid species may become
reproductively isolated by rapid karyotypic evolution,
ecological divergence, and spatial isolation
of the new hybrid lineage. Simulation
studies indicate that although strong ecological
selection promotes hybrid speciation, without
chromosomal or spatial isolation the hybrid
population forms a steep step in a cline between
the parental species (32). Karyotypic divergence
and spatial isolation both reduce the probability
that hybrid species will be generated but will
enhance the evolutionary independence of
hybrid lineages once they arise.
As hypothesized, all plant homoploid hybrid
species are ecologically diverged and exhibit
some degree of ecogeographic isolation, and
roughly half have differing karyotypes (30).
Most commonly, the hybrid species are adjacent
to one or both parental species, although there are
examples of long-distance dispersal as well (table
S1). Some hybrids occupy habitats that are
intermediate between the parental species,
whereas others have colonized an extreme habit
by combining QTLs with effects in the same direction
from both parental species (Table 1 and
Fig. 2). Homoploid hybrid species are easily recreated
in the greenhouse, perhaps explaining why
many are multiply derived in the wild (table S1).
In contrast to homoploid hybrid species,
polyploid species are easily diagnosed because
of chromosome number changes associated with
genome doubling. However, the frequency of
polyploid speciation remains controversial.
When there are multiple polyploid species within
a genus, it is difficult to determine whether there
was a single transition to the new ploidal level
followed by divergent speciation or whether each
polyploid species arose independently. Recent
model-based estimates (33) assume a single
transition to a new ploidal level within a genus
and provide a lower bound of the polyploid
speciation rate: 2 to 4% in flowering plants and
7% in ferns. This contrasts with Stebbins' (34)
estimate of 30 to 35% for flowering plants, which
assumes that all polyploid species within a genus
are independently derived. Because many polyploid
species are themselves multiply derived
(Table 1), Stebbins' estimate is probably closer to
the true polyploid speciation rate. However,
neither of these estimates (33, 34) includes
intraspecific ploidal variation. At least 8 to 9%
of named plant species vary in ploidal level, and
this might be the tip of the iceberg (35). If each
ploidal level (cytotype) is viewed as a cryptic
biological species, then the contribution of
polyploidy to biological species diversity is even
higher than previously surmised. In addition,
there has been confusion between estimates of
the proportion of species that are polyploid and
the rate of polyploid speciation. Analyses of the
age distribution of duplicate genes in diverse
flowering plants (36) indicate that essentially all
may be paleopolyploids, but this should not be
equated with the polyploid speciation rate.
Polyploids can arise by somatic doubling, by
the fusion of unreduced gametes, and by means
of a triploid bridge (Fig. 3). Unreduced gametes
are common in plants and likely represent the
most frequent route to polyploidy (37). However,
most newly arisen polyploids fail to become
established because of meiotic abnormalities and/
or the paucity of appropriate mates (38). The
establishment of polyploids is favored by differential
niche preference, low dispersal, a selfing or
asexual mating system, high fecundity, and a
perennial life history (39, 40). Niche separation,
low dispersal, and selfing increase the probability
of successful matings during
early stages of polyploid species
establishment; otherwise
most matings will be with the
diploid progenitors (40, 41).
Stochastic events due to a small
number of polyploid colonizers
decrease the chance of establishment,
but this barrier is
minimized by high fecundity
and a perennial life history,
which allows plants to reproduce
at multiple times over
their life cycle (39).
Because intraspecific matings
are far more common
than interspecific matings in
natural populations of plants,
autopolyploids must arise at a
much higher rate than allopolyploids
(37). However, named
species are more likely to be
allopolyploids (42), which implies
that allopolyploids are
more easily established in nature,
easier to find, and/or more
readily recognized by taxonomists.
Establishment of allopolyploids
is favored because
of greater niche separation
from their diploid progenitors
(43), and taxonomists appear reluctant to name
phenotypically cryptic autopolyploid species.
Recent attention has been given to changes in
gene expression, genome content, and DNA methylation
that accompany hybrid and polyploid speciation,
but these genomic alterations only rarely
have been linked to changes in ecology or mating
system that affect polyploid establishment (Table 1).
Indeed, many described genomic changes appear
to be maladaptive by-products of reuniting divergent
genomes. However, maladaptive changes
in gene expression in first-generation interspecific
hybrids may be reduced by genome doubling,
and elimination of DNA sequences may help
restore fertility in polyploids (table S1).
Factors Affecting Speciation or Extinction Rates
Recent advances in comparative methods have
made it possible to identify biological or geo-
2X
2X
4X
2XX
4X
1XX
2X
3X
1XX
4X
A B
C
Fig. 3. Mechanisms by which polyploids can arise. (A) Somatic
doubling, in which chromosome number is doubled in vegetative
tissue that gives rise to reproductive organs. (B) Fusion of
unreduced gametes that are produced when cell walls fail to form
in the final stage of meiosis. (C) A triploid bridge, in which
unreduced and reduced gametes form triploids. If the triploids
also produce unreduced gametes, the triploid gametes may fuse
with reduced gametes from diploid individuals to generate stable
tetraploids.
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historical factors affecting speciation or extinction
rates. The most rigorous approach compares
species richness of multiple sister clades that
differ in the presence or absence of a given trait
(44). A significant association may result from
either increased speciation or reduced extinction.
Traits associated with increased species richness
in plants include resin canals, nectar spurs, biotic
pollination, herbaceous growth form, abiotic
dispersal, increased neutral evolution, bilateral
symmetry of flowers, twig epiphytism, and
polyploidy (45) (table S1). Many of these examples
involve biotic interactions, leading to suggestions
that coevolution may drive speciation in
many plant groups or that niche space may be
less constrained in biotic than abiotic interactions
(46). The most rapid diversification rates in
plants are associated with ecological opportunities
created by major geological changes such as
the uplift of the Andes or island formation (Table 1),
which implies that mechanisms that expand
niche diversity often increase species diversification
(or reduce extinction). Unfortunately, the
factors listed above do not fully account for the
most striking trend in species richness­­the negative
correlation with latitude­­which appears to
have a pluralistic explanation (47) (table S1).
Concluding Remarks
The field of plant speciation is in for an exciting
decade. The wide availability of genomic tools
and resources for crop and noncrop species, from
green algae to mosses to angiosperms, will accelerate
our understanding of the genetic and
ecological bases of speciation. These resources
not only will facilitate the cloning and functional
characterization of genes underlying reproductive
barriers but also will make it possible to
quantify the effects of individual mutations or
alleles on reproductive isolation or fitness in natural
populations (Table 1). Likewise, the widespread
application of molecular phylogenetic
approaches simplifies comparative study.
We expect to see rapid progress in each of the
areas highlighted in our review. For example,
studies of the geography of selective sweeps
should provide an objective method for evaluating
the importance of different kinds of reproductive
barriers and geohistorical processes in
speciation. Our understanding of reproductive
isolation will also be enhanced by additional
field-based estimates of isolation across all life
history stages. With the cloning of BDM incompatibilities
in plants, the next step is molecular
evolutionary studies of these genes to identify the
forces that drive their evolution. Finally, comparative
analyses of the effects of different kinds of
reproductive barriers on species richness should
allow us to determine whether reproductive
barriers themselves increase speciation rates.
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55. We thank the great botanical naturalists of the 20th
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of Canada.
Supporting Online Material
www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5840/910/DC1
Fig. S1
Table S1
References
10.1126/science.1137729
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