Introgressive Hybridization in Plants?

Introgressive hybridization (introgression) is genetic modification of one species by another through hybridization and repeated backcrossing. Introgression is important in the evolution of flowering plants. It is also important in plant breeding where a desirable trait can be transferred from wild to crop species.

What is meant by introgressive hybridization?

: the spread of genes of one species into the gene complex of another as a result of hybridization between numerically dissimilar populations in which extensive backcrossing prevents formation of a single stable population.

What is introgressive hybridization and what role might it play in evolution?

Abstract. Rapid evolution on ecological time scales can play a key role in species responses to environmental change. One dynamic that has the potential to generate the diversity necessary for evolution rapid enough to allow response to sudden environmental shifts is introgressive hybridization.