Embryonic lethality leads to hybrid male inviability in hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and D. santomea

Ecology and Evolution

Jackie Gavin-Smyth¹ 

[1] Ecology and Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

关键词: Drosophila;    embryonic lethality;    Haldane's rule;    postzygotic isolation;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.573

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Abstract

The study of the morphological defects unique to interspecific hybrids can reveal which developmental pathways have diverged between species. Drosophila melanogaster and D. santomea diverged more than 10 million years ago, and when crossed produce sterile adult females. Adult hybrid males are absent from all interspecific crosses. We aimed to determine the fate of these hybrid males. To do so, we tracked the development of hybrid females and males using classic genetic markers and techniques. We found that hybrid males die predominantly as embryos with severe segment-specification defects while a large proportion of hybrid females embryos hatch and survive to adulthood. In particular, we show that most male embryos show a characteristic abdominal ablation phenotype, not observed in either parental species. This suggests that sex-specific embryonic developmental defects eliminate hybrid males in this interspecific cross. The study of the developmental abnormalities that occur in hybrids can lead to the understanding of cryptic molecular divergence between species sharing a conserved body plan.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.