Correlated evolution of male and female reproductive traits drive a cascading effect of reinforcement in Drosophila yakuba
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In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 283, No. 1835, 27.07.2016.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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T1 - Correlated evolution of male and female reproductive traits drive a cascading effect of reinforcement in Drosophila yakuba
AU - Comeault, Aaron A
AU - Venkat, Aarti
AU - Matute, Daniel R
PY - 2016/7/27
Y1 - 2016/7/27
N2 - Selection against maladaptive hybridization can drive the evolution of reproductive isolation in a process called reinforcement. While the importance of reinforcement in evolution has been historically debated, many examples now exist. Despite these examples, we typically lack a detailed understanding of the mechanisms limiting the spread of reinforced phenotypes throughout a species' range. Here we address this issue in the fruit fly Drosophila yakuba, a species that hybridizes with its sister species D. santomea and is undergoing reinforcement in a well-defined hybrid zone on the island of São Tomé. Within this region, female D. yakuba show increased postmating-prezygotic (gametic) isolation towards D. santomea when compared with females from allopatric populations. We use a combination of natural collections, fertility assays, and experimental evolution to understand why reinforced gametic isolation in D. yakuba is confined to this hybrid zone. We show that, among other traits, D. yakuba males from sympatric populations sire fewer progeny than allopatric males when mated to allopatric D. yakuba females. Our results provide a novel example of reinforcement acting on a postmating-prezygotic trait in males, resulting in a cascade of reproductive isolation among conspecific populations.
AB - Selection against maladaptive hybridization can drive the evolution of reproductive isolation in a process called reinforcement. While the importance of reinforcement in evolution has been historically debated, many examples now exist. Despite these examples, we typically lack a detailed understanding of the mechanisms limiting the spread of reinforced phenotypes throughout a species' range. Here we address this issue in the fruit fly Drosophila yakuba, a species that hybridizes with its sister species D. santomea and is undergoing reinforcement in a well-defined hybrid zone on the island of São Tomé. Within this region, female D. yakuba show increased postmating-prezygotic (gametic) isolation towards D. santomea when compared with females from allopatric populations. We use a combination of natural collections, fertility assays, and experimental evolution to understand why reinforced gametic isolation in D. yakuba is confined to this hybrid zone. We show that, among other traits, D. yakuba males from sympatric populations sire fewer progeny than allopatric males when mated to allopatric D. yakuba females. Our results provide a novel example of reinforcement acting on a postmating-prezygotic trait in males, resulting in a cascade of reproductive isolation among conspecific populations.
KW - Animals
KW - Drosophila/genetics
KW - Female
KW - Hybridization, Genetic
KW - Male
KW - Reproduction
KW - Reproductive Isolation
KW - Sexual Behavior, Animal
KW - Sympatry
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2016.0730
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2016.0730
M3 - Article
C2 - 27440664
VL - 283
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8452
IS - 1835
ER -