Data from: Contrasting reproductive strategies of triploid hybrid males in vertebrate mating systems

The scarcity of parthenogenetic vertebrates is often attributed to their
‘inferior’ mode of clonal reproduction, which restricts them to
self-reproduce their own genotype lineage and leaves little evolutionary
potential with regard to speciation and evolution of sexual reproduction.
Here, we show that for some taxa such uniformity does not hold. By using
hybridogenetic water frogs (Pelophylax esculentus) as a model system, we
demonstrate that triploid hybrid males from two geographic regions exhibit
very different reproductive modes. With an integrative data set combining
field studies, crossing experiments, flow cytometry and microsatellite
analyses, we found that triploid hybrids from Central Europe are rare,
occur in male sex only and form diploid gametes of a single clonal
lineage. In contrast, triploid hybrids from North Western Europe are
widespread, occur in both sexes and produce recombined haploid gametes.
These differences translate into contrasting reproductive roles between
regions. In Central Europe, triploid hybrid males sexually parasitize
diploid hybrids and just perpetuate their own genotype – which is the
usual pattern in parthenogens. In North Western Europe, on the other hand,
the triploid males are gamete donors for diploid hybrids, thereby
stabilizing the mixed 2n-3n hybrid populations. By demonstrating these
contrasting roles in male reproduction, we draw attention to a new
significant evolutionary potential for animals with non-sexual
reproduction, namely reproductive plasticity.