Stick Insect Genomes Reveal Natural Selection’s Role in Parallel Speciation

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1252136
• Publication Date: 2014-05-15T18:26:20Z
• Authors: Víctor Soria-Carr...; Zachariah Gompert; Aaron A. Comeault; Timothy E. Farkas; Thomas L. Parchman; J. Spencer Johnston; C. Alex Buerkle; Jeffrey L. Feder; Jens Bast; Tanja Schwander; Scott P. Egan; Bernard J. Crespi; Patrik Nosil
• Keywords: Genetic divergence; Divergence (linguistics); Genetic algorithm; Parallel evolution; Ecological speciation

Stick to the Bush Can underlying genetic changes driving divergence of populations into new species be predicted or repeated? Soria-Carrasco et al. (p. 738 ) investigated observed after one generation when stick insect ( Timema cristinae were transplanted from their preferred host plants alternative hosts. Diverged regions relatively small, with most loci showing in a single population pair. However, number parallel was greater than expected by chance. Thus, selection can drive phenotypic evolution via changes.