Sexual dimorphism in the Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) metabolome increases throughout development

European Journal of Entomology

Edward H. MORROW¹  Fiona C. INGLEBY² 

[1] e-mails: [e-mail], [e-mail];Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, John Maynard Smith Building, Falmer, Brighton, UK;

关键词: diptera;    drosophilidae;    drosophila melanogaster;    metabolome;    ontogeny;    sexual dimorphism;    transcriptome;   

DOI  :  10.14411/eje.2017.030

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The expression of sexually dimorphic phenotypes from a shared genome between males and females is a longstanding puzzle in evolutionary biology. Increasingly, research has made use of transcriptomic technology to examine the molecular basis of sexual dimorphism through gene expression studies, but even this level of detail misses the metabolic processes that ultimately link gene expression with the whole organism phenotype. We use metabolic profiling in Drosophila melanogaster to complete this missing step, with a view to examining variation in male and female metabolic profiles, or metabolomes, throughout development. We show that the metabolome varies considerably throughout larval, pupal and adult stages. We also find significant sexual dimorphism in the metabolome, although only in pupae and adults, and the extent of dimorphism increases throughout development. We compare this to transcriptomic data from the same population and find that the general pattern of increasing sex differences throughout development is mirrored in RNA expression. We discuss our results in terms of the usefulness of metabolic profiling in linking genotype and phenotype to more fully understand the basis of sexually dimorphic phenotypes.

【 授权许可】

Unknown