title: DDT resistance, epistasis and male fitness in flies.
abstract: In Drosophila melanogaster, the DDT resistance allele (DDT-R) is beneficial in the presence of DDT. Interestingly, DDT-R also elevates female fitness in the absence of DDT and existed in populations before DDT use. However, DDT-R did not spread regardless of DDT-independent selective advantages in females. We ask whether sexual antagonism could explain why DDT-R did not spread before pesticide use. We tested pre- and post-copulatory male fitness correlates in two genetic backgrounds into which we backcrossed the DDT-R allele. We found costs to DDT-R that depended on the genetic background in which DDT-R was found and documented strong epistasis between genetic background and DDT-R that influenced male size. Although it remains unclear whether DDT-R is generally sexually antagonistic, or whether the fitness costs noted would be sufficient to retard the spread of DDT-R in the absence of DDT, general fitness advantages to DDT-R in the absence of DDT may be unlikely.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology & Conservation, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Tremough, Penryn, UK.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hosken
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Rostant
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bretman
authors.forename: T A R
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Ffrench-Constant
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wedell
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size / Q000235:genetics; D003634:DDT; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D007305:Insecticide Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D007306:Insecticides; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D003634:DDT