title: Genetic architecture and functional characterization of genes underlying the rapid diversification of male external genitalia between Drosophila simulans and Drosophila mauritiana.
abstract: Male sexual characters are often among the first traits to diverge between closely related species and identifying the genetic basis of such changes can contribute to our understanding of their evolutionary history. However, little is known about the genetic architecture or the specific genes underlying the evolution of male genitalia. The morphology of the claspers, posterior lobes, and anal plates exhibit striking differences between Drosophila mauritiana and D. simulans. Using QTL and introgression-based high-resolution mapping, we identified several small regions on chromosome arms 3L and 3R that contribute to differences in these traits. However, we found that the loci underlying the evolution of clasper differences between these two species are independent from those that contribute to posterior lobe and anal plate divergence. Furthermore, while most of the loci affect each trait in the same direction and act additively, we also found evidence for epistasis between loci for clasper bristle number. In addition, we conducted an RNAi screen in D. melanogaster to investigate if positional and expression candidate genes located on chromosome 3L, are also involved in genital development. We found that six of these genes, including components of Wnt signaling and male-specific lethal 3 (msl3), regulate the development of genital traits consistent with the effects of the introgressed regions where they are located and that thus represent promising candidate genes for the evolution these traits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kentaro M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Institut für Populationsgenetik, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien, A-1210, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hopfen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.affiliation: Institut für Populationsgenetik, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien, A-1210, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlötterer
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia 20147.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Masly
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, United Kingdom msantos-nunes@brookes.ac.uk amcgregor@brookes.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alistair P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, United Kingdom msantos-nunes@brookes.ac.uk amcgregor@brookes.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Maria D S
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Nunes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic; D058685:Genetic Pleiotropy; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C093904:msl-3 protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila; dominance; epistasis; genital arch; pleiotropy; quantitative trait