Behavioral facilitation of reproduction in sexual and parthenogenetic Drosophila.
In a normal bisexual laboratory strain of Drosophila mercatorum, females housed with either fertile or sterile males lay more eggs than do females housed in pairs or as isolates. Females of a derived parthenogenetic strain have suffered genetic loss of this behavioral facilitation of egg production, a loss comparable to the loss of sexual receptivity. Despite these losses there has been a large increase in fecundity in the parthenogenetic strain. These findings are compared with those in a parthenogenetic lizard.
D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009490:Neurosecretory Systems / Q000502:physiology; D010312:Parthenogenesis; D012098:Reproduction; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*