Naturally Segregating Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Wing Shape of Drosophila melanogaster

Variation in vein position and wing shape of Drosophila melanogaster depends on many genes. In the following, we report the results of a QTL analysis of wing shape in D. melanogaster. We identified QTL responsible for natural variation for wing shape and analyzed their interactions with developmental genetic signaling pathways important for vein positioning. The QTL analysis indicated that the total number of QTL segregating in this population is likely to be very large. The locations of putative QTL identified in this study were compared to those identified in previous studies and, while there is more correspondence across studies than expected by chance on the third chromosome, the studies appear to have identified different QTL. Using a complementation design, we tested for interactions among these QTL with the Hedgehog and Decapentaplegic signaling pathways, which are important for the development and position of vein pairs L3-L4 and L2-L5. Three QTL showed strong interactions with these two pathways, supporting the hypothesis that these QTL are involved in these pathways. Naturally segregating variation can therefore act through known signaling pathways to produce variation in vein position.