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Variable post‐zygotic isolation in D rosophila melanogaster/ D . simulans hybrids
Author(s) -
Matute D. R.,
GavinSmyth J.,
Liu G.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/jeb.12422
Subject(s) - biology , penetrance , reproductive isolation , genetics , drosophila melanogaster , hybrid , melanogaster , intraspecific competition , evolutionary biology , phenotype , genetic variation , gene , zoology , population , botany , demography , sociology
The study of hybrid inviability reveals cryptic divergence between the genetic interactions that maintain stable phenotypes in the pure species . We characterized the effects of natural variation on the penetrance of hybrid inviability phenotypes in crosses between D rosophila melanogaster and two species of the D . simulans subcomplex, D . simulans and D . sechellia . Using a panel of wild‐caught lines, we studied the levels of genetic variance present in D . simulans and D . sechellia affecting prezygotic and post‐zygotic isolation in hybridizations with D . melanogaster females. We observed extensive variability in the viability of hybrid individuals, dependent on the genotype of the parents, suggesting that intraspecific natural variation manifests directly in hybrid phenotypes. Furthermore, we found that genetic background significantly affects the penetrance of a well‐studied determinant of hybrid inviability: the interaction between H mr mel – L hr sim . Our results suggest that hybrid inviability – and reproductive isolation generally – can be modified by polymorphisms at multiple loci segregating within the parental species. Just as the penetrance of most mutant phenotypes can be modified by the genetic background within the pure species, the penetrance of hybrid inviability phenotypes is highly influenced by the parental genotypes.