Partial clonality is widespread across the tree of life, but most population genetic models are designed for exclusively clonal or sexual organisms. This gap hampers our understanding of the influence of clonality on evolutionary trajectories and the interpretation of population genetic data. We performed forward simulations of diploid populations at increasing rates of clonality (c), analysed their relationships with genotypic (clonal richness, R, and distribution of clonal sizes, Pareto β) and genetic (FIS and linkage disequilibrium) indices, and tested predictions of c from population genetic data through supervised machine learning. Two complementary behaviours emerged from the probability distributions of genotypic and genetic indices with increasing c. While the impact of c on R and Pareto β was easily described by simple mathematical equations, its effects on genetic indices were noticeable only at the highest levels (c > 0.95). Consequently, genotypic indices allowed reliable estimates of c, while genetic descriptors led to poorer performances when c < 0.95. These results provide clear baseline expectations for genotypic and genetic diversity and dynamics under partial clonality. Worryingly, however, the use of realistic sample sizes to acquire empirical data systematically led to gross underestimates (often of one to two orders of magnitude) of c, suggesting that many interpretations hitherto proposed in the literature, mostly based on genotypic richness, should be reappraised. We propose future avenues to derive realistic confidence intervals for c and show that, although still approximate, a supervised learning method would greatly improve the estimation of c from population genetic data.

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How can we explain morphological variations in a holobiont? The genetic determinism of phenotypes is not always obvious and could be circumstantial in complex organisms. In symbiotic cnidarians, it is known that morphology or colour can misrepresent a complex genetic and symbiotic diversity. Anemonia viridis is a symbiotic sea anemone from temperate seas. This species displays different colour morphs based on pigment content and lives in a wide geographical range. Here, we investigated whether colour morph differentiation correlated with host genetic diversity or associated symbiotic genetic diversity by using RAD sequencing and symbiotic dinoଏagellate typing of 140 sea anemones from the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea. We did not observe genetic differentiation among colour morphs of A. viridis at the animal host or symbiont level, rejecting the hypothesis that A. viridis colour morphs correspond to species level differences. Interestingly, we however identiଏed at least four independent animal host genetic lineages in A. viridis that differed in their associated symbiont populations. In conclusion, although the functional role of the different morphotypes of A. viridis remains to be determined, our approach provides new insights on the existence of cryptic species within A. viridis.