The Roles of Introgression and Climate Change in the Rise to Dominance of Acropora Corals (Current Biology)

Mao et al. show that a major introgression event as well as recurrent gene flow across Acropora coral species and Acropora lineages profited from climate-driven mass extinctions in the Plio-Pleistocene, indicating that introgression and ecological opportunity (from climate-driven mass extinction) play important roles in the adaptive radiation of Acropora.