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Hybridization is a common and important force in plant evolution. One of its outcomes is introgression – the transfer of small genomic regions from one taxon to another by hybridization and repeated backcrossing. This process is believed to be common in glacial refugia, where range expansions and contractions can lead to cycles of sympatry and isolation, creating conditions for extensive hybridization and introgression. Polyploidization is another genome-wide process with a major influence on plant evolution. Both hybridization and polyploidization can have complex effects on plant evolution. However, these effects are often difficult to understand in recently evolved species complexes.

We combined flow cytometry, analyses of transcriptomic sequences and pollen tube growth assays to investigate the consequences of polyploidization …