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THE GENETICS OF AN ISOLATING MECHANISM BETWEEN TWO SIBLING SPECIES OF DROSOPHILA
Author(s) -
Coyne Jerry A.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.84
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1558-5646
pISSN - 0014-3820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1993.tb01233.x
Subject(s) - biology , reproductive isolation , intraspecific competition , autosome , genetics , drosophila (subgenus) , mating , sperm competition , chromosome , interspecific competition , genetic architecture , genotype , sperm , drosophila melanogaster , gene , evolutionary biology , zoology , quantitative trait locus , ecology , population , demography , sociology
Matings between Drosophila simulans females and males of the sibling species D. mauritiana are of abnormally short duration. These rapid matings interrupt the transfer of sperm, leading to substantial reproductive isolation in interspecific as compared to intraspecific copulations. Genetic analysis of this behavior shows that it is influenced much more by the male than the female genotype, with genes from D. simulans being dominant. In males, shortened copulation is caused by interspecific divergence at a minimum of three loci, with one gene on each of the major chromosomes. This is an underestimate of the true number of loci affecting the trait, which could be much larger. The two autosomes have the largest effect, whereas that of the X chromosome is much smaller. The genetic architecture of copulation duration and the larger effect of male than female genotype suggest that females can detect and discriminate against differences in male genitalia.