Inbred Drosophila line sequences
Events in the fruit fly ovary during oogenesis include almost every fundamental process in living cells, including stem cell maintenance and differentiation, proliferation, cell cycle control, cell-cell signaling, polarization of microtubules, massive transport of resources, cell migration, and more. In fruit flies (D. melanogaster), egg size is a highly polygenic trait, closely related to fitness, and known to vary with temperature in laboratory populations. Drosophila egg size also responds to artificial selection. The aim of this study was to identify candidate genes influencing common processes related to egg size variation in D. melanogaster. We used sequences obtained from inbred lines derived from a common wild-caught population that were subjected to two different types of selection (laboratory selection based on temperature and direct artificial selection), favoring large egg size. Using whole genome sequencing we identified SNPs shared among inbred lines within selection treatments. We then cross-referenced the results to identify shared candidate genes pointing to key processes involved in variation in egg size by both selection treatments.