Recombination and selection against introgressed DNA

Abstract

AbstractIntrogressed DNA is often deleterious at many loci in the recipient species’ genome, and is therefore purged by selection. Here, we use mathematical modeling and whole-genome simulations to study the influence of recombination on this process. We find that aggregate recombination controls the genome-wide rate of purging in the early generations after admixture, when purging is most rapid. Aggregate recombination is influenced by the number of chromosomes and heterogeneity in their size, and by the number of crossovers and their locations along chromosomes. A comparative prediction is that species with fewer chromosomes should purge introgressed ancestry more profoundly, and should therefore exhibit weaker genomic signals of historical introgression. Turning to within-genome patterns, we show that, in species with autosomal recombination in both sexes, more purging is expected on sex chromosomes than autosomes, all else equal. The opposite prediction holds for species without autosomal recombination in the heterogametic sex. Finally, positive correlations between recombination rate and introgressed ancestry have recently been observed within the genomes of several species. We show that these correlations are likely driven not by recombination’s effect in unlinking neutral from deleterious introgressed alleles, but by recombination’s effect on the rate of purging of deleterious introgressed alleles themselves.