Data from: Gene flow between wheat and wild relatives: empirical evidence from Aegilops geniculata, Ae. neglecta and Ae. triuncialis

Gene flow between domesticated species and their wild relatives is
receiving growing attention. The present study addressed introgression
between wheat and natural populations of its wild relatives (Aegilops
species). The sampling included 472 individuals, collected from 32
Mediterranean populations of three widespread Aegilops species
(Ae. geniculata, Ae. neglecta and
Ae. triuncialis), and compared wheat field borders to areas
isolated from agriculture. Individuals were characterized with AFLP
fingerprinting, analysed through two computational approaches (i.e.
Bayesian estimations of admixture and fuzzy clustering), and sequences
marking wheat-specific insertions of transposable elements. With this
combined approach, we detected substantial gene flow between wheat and
Aegilops species. Specifically, Ae. neglecta and
Ae. triuncialis showed significantly more admixed individuals
close to wheat fields than in locations isolated from agriculture. In
contrast, little evidence of gene flow was found in
Ae. geniculata. Our results indicated that reproductive barriers
have been regularly bypassed during the long history of sympatry between
wheat and Aegilops.