| Title: | Evolution of sexually dimorphic pheromone profiles coincides with increased number of male-specific chemosensory organs in Drosophila prolongata |
| Author(s): | Luo Y; Zhang Y; Farine JP; Ferveur JF; Ramirez S; Kopp A; |
| Address: | Department of Evolution and Ecology University of California-Davis Davis CA USA. Department of Statistics University of California-Davis Davis CA USA. Present address: School of Mathematics and Statistics University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia. Centre des Sciences du Gout et de l'Alimentation Universite de Bourgogne-Dijon Dijon France |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-7758 (Print) 2045-7758 (Electronic) 2045-7758 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Binary communication systems that involve sex-specific signaling and sex-specific signal perception play a key role in sexual selection and in the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits. The driving forces and genetic changes underlying such traits can be investigated in systems where sex-specific signaling and perception have emerged recently and show evidence of potential coevolution. A promising model is found in Drosophila prolongata, which exhibits a species-specific increase in the number of male chemosensory bristles. We show that this transition coincides with recent evolutionary changes in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. Long-chain CHCs that are sexually monomorphic in the closest relatives of D. prolongata (D. rhopaloa, D. carrolli, D. kurseongensis, and D. fuyamai) are strongly male-biased in this species. We also identify an intraspecific female-limited polymorphism, where some females have male-like CHC profiles. Both the origin of sexually dimorphic CHC profiles and the female-limited polymorphism in D. prolongata involve changes in the relative amounts of three mono-alkene homologs, 9-tricosene, 9-pentacosene, and 9-heptacosene, all of which share a common biosynthetic origin and point to a potentially simple genetic change underlying these traits. Our results suggest that pheromone synthesis may have coevolved with chemosensory perception and open the way for reconstructing the origin of sexual dimorphism in this communication system" |
| Keywords: | cuticular hydrocarbons pheromones sexual dimorphism sex-limited polymorphism; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINELuo, Yige Zhang, Yunwei Farine, Jean-Pierre Ferveur, Jean-Francois Ramirez, Santiago Kopp, Artyom eng R35 GM122592/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ England 2019/12/25 Ecol Evol. 2019 Nov 17; 9(23):13608-13618. doi: 10.1002/ece3.5819. eCollection 2019 Dec" |
