What women want makes a difference

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 23 Nov 2004 - 9:00 PDT


Males will court just about anything, but females mate preferentially with their own species. This, at least, is true for two species of the fruitfly Drosophila (D pseudoobscura and D persimilis) that occur in the same environment along the western United States and can interbreed where they meet. In the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos and his colleagues present the first high-resolution analysis of "species reinforcement genes" that account for heightened discrimination by females in populations faced with a choice, compared with their isolated peers.

The researchers identify two new loci that influence the likelihood that a female will choose to mate with a male of her own species, rather than one of a closely related species. Because the daughters of discriminating D. pseudoobscura females were just as discriminating as their mothers, they concluded that female mating discrimination is inherited as a dominant trait. They further show that genes responsible for female preference are on the X and fourth chromosomes. The most promising genes in both regions appear to be involved with olfaction and on this basis, the authors propose a novel model of speciation via mating discrimination in Drosophila pseudoobscura based on the combined response to auditory and olfactory cues.

These findings mark a major turning point in the study of speciation as they provide vital clues to the final stages of the speciation process. Ortiz-Barrientos and colleagues are now poised to identify and study the evolution of the actual genes contributing to the creation of new species.

Citation: Ortiz-Barrientos D, Counterman B, Noor M (2004) The Genetics of Speciation by Reinforcement. PLoS Biol 2 (12): e416.

CONTACT: Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos
Louisiana State University
107 Life Sciences Bldg
Baton Rouge, LA USA 70803 1-225-578-7081
1-225-578-2597 (fax)
dortiz1@lsu.edu

PLEASE MENTION PLoS BIOLOGY (http://www.plosbiology.org) AS THE SOURCE FOR THIS ARTICLE. THANK YOU.

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Contact: Paul Ocampo
pocampo@plos.org
1-415-624-1224
Public Library of Science

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