Wolves and coyotes can interbreed in captivity; and now, because of changes in t

Question

Wolves and coyotes can interbreed in captivity; and now, because of changes in their habitat distribution, they may have the opportunity to interbreed in the wild. To examine this possibility, mitochondrial DNA from wolf and coyote populations throughout North America - including habitats where the two species both reside - was analyzed, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed from the resulting sequences. A sequence from a jackal was used as an outgroup and a sequence from a domestic dog was included, demonstrating wolves as the origin of domestic dogs.

What do you conclude about potential interspecific hybridization between wolves and coyotes on the basis of this phylogenetic tree?

a. There was at least one hybridization event between a wolf and coyote.
b. Dogs are the same phylogenetic distance from jackals as from coyotes, and they diverged from an independent group of wolves. c. Wolves and coyotes never hybridize in nature. d. There must have been multiple hybridization events between wolves and coyotes.

Explanation / Answer

d. There must have been multiple hybridization events between wolves and coyotes.

The experimental results show that the two species interbreed in captivity and are viable. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA showed that the DNA of the two organisms is almost similar, which indicates that multiple time the species have interbred during the course of evolution.

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