MITOCHONDRIAL‐DNA DIVERSITY AND THE ORIGIN OF THE MENIDIA CLARKHUBBSI COMPLEX OF UNISEXUAL FISHES (ATHERINIDAE)

Abstract

Restriction-endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of the unisexual M. clarkhubbsi complex and close sexual relatives indicated that the unisexual complex arose through multiple, nonreciprocal hybridizations involving females of M. peninsulae. High-resolution analyses using restriction endonucleases that cleave at 4-bp sites revealed mtDNA sequence diversity that was low among unisexuals but high among individuals of M. peninsulae. The identification of M. peninsulae as a parent of the unisexuals conflicts with some details of previous allozyme comparisons. One possibility is that the unisexuals were derived from hybridization involving M. beryllina and a recently extinct form of M. peninsulae. In contrast to the unisexuals, contemporary hybrids of M. peninsulae and M. beryllina are formed by reciprocal matings. The origins of extant unisexual lineages from nonreciprocal hybridizations, together with their low mtDNA diversity relative to the maternal ancestor, implies strong constraints on origins of unisexuality via hybridization. Data on reproduction by contemporary F₁ hybrids reveal one form of genetic/developmental constraint: M. peninsulae and M. beryllina may now have diverged beyond the point where the hybrid origin of new unisexual lineages is possible.