[The role of hybrid zones in speciation: a case study on chromosome races of the house mouse Mus domesticus and common shrew Sorex araneus].

Abstract

Although diverse complexes of chromosome races are of rather rare occurrence in mammals, that does not reduce its importance to insignificant phenomenon not worthy of studying as some unique case without direct analogy. Moreover, these complexes present virtually ideal models for estimation of the impact of hybridization on the process of microevolution. The chromosome races are characterized by almost zero level of genetic differentiation and well-defined distinctions, usually induced by chromosome rearrangements only. The presented review shows the valuable contribution of the studies on Sorex araneus and Mus domesticus chromosome Robertsonian systems into our understanding of varied impacts of hybridization on the speciation process. Particularly, it promotes better understanding of such evolutionary phenomena as "reinforcement" of reproductive isolation in secondary contact zones between divergent populations, speciation without geographic separation ("divergence with gene flow"), and "zonal raciation".