Delicious poison: genetics of Drosophila host plant preference.
Insects use chemical cues to identify host plants, which suggests that chemosensory perception could be a target of natural selection during host specialization. Five papers using data from the 12 recently sequenced Drosophila genomes examined chemosensory gene function and evolution across specialist and generalist species. A functional study identifies odorant binding proteins that mediate loss of toxin avoidance in a specialist, and targeted genomic studies indicate specialists and island endemics lose chemosensory genes more rapidly than generalist and mainland relatives. Together, these studies suggest a mode of chemoreceptor evolution dominated by birth/death dynamics, coupled with a low level of potential positive selection.
Whiteman
Noah K
NK
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. nwhiteman@oeb.harvard.edu
Pierce
Naomi E
NE
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D017344:Genes, Insect; D049750:Genome, Insect; D009812:Odorants; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D018035:Receptors, Odorant