Data from: Molecular signatures of reticulate evolution within the complex of European pine taxa

Speciation mechanisms, including the role of interspecific gene flow and
introgression in emergence of new species, are the major focus of
evolutionary studies. Inference of taxonomic relationship between closely
related species maybe challenged by past hybridization events, but at the
same time it may provide new knowledge about mechanisms responsible for
the maintenance of species integrity despite interspecific gene flow.
Here, using nucleotide sequence variation and utilizing a coalescent
modelling framework, we tested the role of hybridization and introgression
in the evolutionary history of closely related pine taxa from Pinus mugo
complex and P. sylvestris. We compared the patterns of polymorphism and
divergence between taxa and found great overlap of neutral variation
within P. mugo complex. Our phylogeny reconstruction indicated multiple
instances of reticulation events in the past, suggesting an important role
of interspecific gene flow in the species divergence. The best fitting
model revealed P. mugo and P. uncinata as sister species with basal P.
uliginosa and asymmetric migration between all investigated species after
their divergence. The magnitude of interspecies gene flow differed
greatly, and it was consistently stronger from representatives of P. mugo
complex to P. sylvestris than in the opposite direction. The results
indicate the prominent role of reticulation evolution in those forest
trees and provide genetic framework to study species integrity maintained
by selection and local adaptation.