Evolution of mating isolation between populations of Drosophila ananassae.
Prezygotic mating isolation has been a major interest of evolutionary biologists during the past several decades because it is likely to represent one of the first stages in the transition from populations to species. Mate discrimination is one of the most commonly measured forms of prezygotic isolation and appears to be relatively common among closely related species. In some cases, it has been used as a measure to distinguish populations from subspecies, races, and sister species, yet the influences of various evolutionary mechanisms that may generate mate discrimination are largely unknown. In this study, we measured the level and pattern of mate discrimination among 18 populations of a cosmopolitan drosophilid species, Drosophila ananassae, from throughout its geographical range and its sister species, Drosophila pallidosa, which has a restricted geographical distribution in the South Pacific Islands. In addition, we measured genetic differentiation between all 18 populations using mitochondrial DNA polymorphism data. Mate discrimination varies considerably throughout the species range, being higher among populations outside the ancestral Indonesian range, and highest in the South Pacific. Our results suggest that colonization and genetic differentiation may have an influence on the evolutionary origin of mate discrimination. Our phylogeographical approach clarifies the ancestral relationships of several populations from the South Pacific that show particularly strong mate discrimination and suggests that they may be in the early stages of speciation. Furthermore, both the genetic and behavioral results cast doubt on the status of D. pallidosa as a good species.
Schug
Malcolm D
MD
Biology Department, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. mdschug@uncg.edu
Baines
John F
JF
Killon-Atwood
Amanda
A
Mohanty
Sujata
S
Das
Aparup
A
Grath
Sonja
S
Smith
Shelly G
SG
Zargham
Shiva
S
McEvey
Shane F
SF
Stephan
Wolfgang
W
D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D001315:Australia; D001938:Brazil; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010139:Pacific Islands; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial