Incipient speciation with biased gene flow between two lineages of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

- We identify two genetically distinct lineages of Crotalus atrox.
- Mitochondrial and nuclear data indicate recent admixture between these lineages.
- Eastern and western populations show contrasting levels of genetic diversity.
- There is evidence for biased gene flow between eastern and western populations.
- Biased gene flow may be due to pre- or post-zygotic isolating mechanisms.

We used mitochondrial DNA sequence data from 151 individuals to estimate population genetic structure across the range of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), a widely distributed North American pitviper. We also tested hypotheses of population structure using double-digest restriction site associated DNA (ddRADseq) data, incorporating thousands of nuclear genome-wide SNPs from 42 individuals. We found strong mitochondrial support for a deep divergence between eastern and western C. atrox populations, and subsequent intermixing of these populations in the Inter-Pecos region of the United States and Mexico. Our nuclear RADseq data also identify these two distinct lineages of C. atrox, and provide evidence for nuclear admixture of eastern and western alleles across a broad geographic region. We identified contrasting patterns of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic variation across this genetic fusion zone that indicate partially restricted patterns of gene flow, which may be due to either pre- or post-zygotic isolating mechanisms. The failure of these two lineages to maintain complete genetic isolation, and evidence for partially-restricted gene flow, imply that these lineages were in the early stages of speciation prior to secondary contact.