Sex in Drosophila mauritiana: a very high level of amino acid polymorphism in a male reproductive protein gene, Acp26Aa.
Many genes pertaining to male reproductive functions have been shown to evolve rapidly between species, and evidence increasingly suggest the influence of positive Darwinian selection. The accessory gland protein gene (Acp26Aa) of Drosophila is one such example. In order to understand the mechanism of selection, it is often helpful to examine the pattern of polymorphism. We report here that the level of amino acid polymorphism in the N-terminal quarter of Acp26Aa is high in Drosophila melanogaster and is unprecedented in its sibling species Drosophila mauritiana. We postulate that (1) this N-terminal segment may play a role in sperm competition, and (2) D. mauritiana may have been under much more intense sexual selection than other species. Both postulates have important ramifications and deserve to be tested rigorously.
Tsaur
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SC
Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Ting
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CT
Wu
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CI
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005260:Female; D017344:Genes, Insect; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D010455:Peptides; C489171:Acp26Aa protein, Drosophila; C489177:Acp36DE protein, Drosophila; C056736:SP protein, Drosophila