Genetic factors predict hybrid formation in the British flora

Natural hybridization can have a profound evolutionary impact, with consequences ranging from the extinction of rare taxa to the origin of new species. Natural hybrid-ization is particularly common in plants; however, our understanding of the general factors that promote or prevent hybridization is hampered by the highly variable outcomes in different lineages. Here, we quantify the influence of different predictors on hybrid formation across species from an entire flora. We combine estimates of hybridization with ecological attributes and a new species-level phylogeny for over 1,100 UK flowering plant species. Our results show that genetic factors, particularly parental genetic distance, as well as phylogenetic position and ploidy, are key deter-minants of hybrid formation, whereas many other factors such as range overlap and genus size explain much less variation in hybrid formation. Overall, intrinsic genetic factors shape the evolutionary and ecological consequences of natural hybridization across species in a flora.

Automated summary

Natural hybridization can have significant evolutionary impacts, ranging from the extinction of rare taxa to the origin of new species. However, the factors that promote or prevent hybridization vary greatly among different lineages. A study on over 1,100 UK flowering plant species reveals that genetic factors, such as parental genetic distance, as well as phylogenetic position and ploidy, are key determinants of hybrid formation. Other factors like range overlap and genus size contribute less to the variation in hybrid formation. Overall, genetic factors play a crucial role in shaping the evolutionary and ecological consequences of natural hybridization in a plant flora.