The Aquilegia genome: adaptive radiation and an extraordinarily polymorphic chromosome with a unique history

The columbine genus Aquilegia is a classic example of an adaptive radiation, involving a wide variety of pollinators and habitats. Here we present the genome assembly of A. coerulea ‘Goldsmith’, complemented by high-coverage sequencing data from 10 wild species covering the world-wide distribution. Our analyses reveal extensive allele sharing among species and demonstrate that introgression and selection played a role in the Aquilegia radiation. We also present the remarkable discovery that the evolutionary history of an entire chromosome differs from that of the rest of the genome – a phenomenon which we do not fully understand, but which highlights the need to consider chromosomes in an evolutionary context.