Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23586609›Full record

ArticleBMC genetics2013

Hybrids between common and Antarctic minke whales are fertile and can back-cross.

Kevin A Glover, Naohisa Kanda, Tore Haug, Luis A Pastene, Nils Øien, Bjørghild B Seliussen, Anne G E Sørvik, Hans J Skaug

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC genetics, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. What Do We Know About Hybrid Blue (Ecology and evolution · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kevin A GloverInstitute of Marine Research, PO box 1870, Nordnes N-5817, Bergen, Norway. Kevin.glover@imr.no
Naohisa Kanda
Tore Haug
Luis A Pastene
Nils Øien
Bjørghild B Seliussen
Anne G E Sørvik
Hans J Skaug

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMinke whales are separated into two genetically distinct species: the Antarctic minke whale found in the southern hemisphere, and the common minke whale which is cosmopolitan. The common minke whale is further divided into three allopatric sub-species found in the North Pacific, southern hemisphere, and the North Atlantic. Here, we aimed to identify the genetic ancestry of a pregnant female minke whale captured in the North Atlantic in 2010, and her fetus, using data from the mtDNA control region, 11 microsatellite loci and a sex determining marker.

resultsAll statistical parameters demonstrated that the mother was a hybrid displaying maternal and paternal contribution from North Atlantic common and Antarctic minke whales respectively. Her female fetus displayed greater genetic similarity to North Atlantic common minke whales than herself, strongly suggesting that the hybrid mother had paired with a North Atlantic common minke whale.

conclusionThis study clearly demonstrates, for the first time, that hybrids between minke whale species may be fertile, and that they can back-cross. Whether contact between these species represents a contemporary event linked with documented recent changes in the Antarctic ecosystem, or has occurred at a low frequency over many years, remains open.

Indexed as

Hybridization, GeneticAnimalsDNA, MitochondrialFemaleFetusGenetic SpeciationMaleMicrosatellite RepeatsMinke WhalePhylogenyPregnancyWhalesDNA, Mitochondrial

Identifiers

PMID23586609
PMCPMC3637290

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.