Experimental evolution reveals competing selective forces during an early pollinator shift in monkeyflowers
- 1Haverford College
Abstract
Understanding how complex multi-trait adaptations arise in nature remains a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology. A classic example of this adaptation is the pollination syndrome, where integrated suites of floral characteristics co-evolve to attract specific pollinators. While transitions between pollination syndromes occur frequently, the underlying evolutionary trajectories traversed by adapting populations remain largely opaque. Here, we used an experimental evolution approach to track real-time phenotypic and genomic changes during a pollinator switch, leveraging the novel attraction to bumblebees exhibited by hybrids between the hummingbird-pollinated Mimulus cardinalis and the self-pollinating M. parishii. Within only three generations of bumblebee selection, we observed remarkably rapid shifts in floral traits, genotypes, and fitness. Our findings demonstrate that pollinator shifts are likely shaped by a complex interplay of selection, genomic conflict, and pleiotropic constraints that cannot be predicted simply by the genetic architecture of floral traits alone.
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BibTeX
@misc{peng2026experimental,
title = {{Experimental evolution reveals competing selective forces during an early pollinator shift in monkeyflowers}},
author = {F. Peng and C. van Vloten and B. Winograd and A. Trapp and S. Taberski and L. Streicher},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.28.755135},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.755135v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Experimental evolution reveals competing selective forces during an early pollinator shift in monkeyflowers
AU - F. Peng
AU - C. van Vloten
AU - B. Winograd
AU - A. Trapp
AU - S. Taberski
AU - L. Streicher
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.28.755135
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.755135v1
AB - Understanding how complex multi-trait adaptations arise in nature remains a fundamental challenge in evolutionary biology. A classic example of this adaptation is the pollination syndrome, where integrated suites of floral characteristics co-evolve to attract specific pollinators. While transitions between pollination syndromes occur frequently, the underlying evolutionary trajectories traversed by adapting populations remain largely opaque. Here, we used an experimental evolution approach to track real-time phenotypic and genomic changes during a pollinator switch, leveraging the novel attraction to bumblebees exhibited by hybrids between the hummingbird-pollinated Mimulus cardinalis and the self-pollinating M. parishii. Within only three generations of bumblebee selection, we observed remarkably rapid shifts in floral traits, genotypes, and fitness. Our findings demonstrate that pollinator shifts are likely shaped by a complex interplay of selection, genomic conflict, and pleiotropic constraints that cannot be predicted simply by the genetic architecture of floral traits alone.
ER -