Ninety years of Drosophila melanogaster hybrids.
Within 10 years of the beginning of experimental genetic research on Drosophila melanogaster, in 1919, A. H. Sturtevant discovered its sibling species, D. simulans. He hybridized the two species and made fundamental discoveries about the genetic basis of hybrid incompatibility. The complete sterility of surviving F(1) hybrids frustrated Sturtevant and his vision of comprehensively exploring the genetics of interspecific differences. But over the next 90 years, a combination of clever genetic tricks and close observation of natural variation has led to a wealth of discovery using these and other hybrids of D. melanogaster and D. simulans, resulting in an advanced understanding of speciation and the evolution of morphology, gene regulation, and behavior.
Barbash
Daniel A
DA
Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. dab87@cornell.edu
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics*; D005823:Genetics / Q000266:history*; D023281:Genomics / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics