The ghost of hybrids past: fixation of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) mitochondrial DNA in an introgressed population of lake trout (S. namaycush)

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Abstract
Complete fixation of arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was observed in a southern Québec population of lake trout (S. namaycush). This introgressed population otherwise appeared to be normal with regard to lake trout morphology and three species‐diagnostic microsatellite loci. Arctic charr do not occur in the area, suggesting that the hybridization event was prehistoric. Of several possible hypotheses, the most plausible explanation for this aberrant population is that hybridization occurredin situsoon after deglaciation, with repeated backcrossing of hybrids with lake trout. Fixation ofS. alpinusmtDNA in the population may have occurred either by chance (drift) or selection, although indirect evidence and data from similarly introgressed brook trout (S. fontinalis) populations in the region suggest that selection favouring theS. alpinusmitochondrial type and/or associated nuclear genes may have been involved.

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