ebony Affects Pigmentation Divergence and Cuticular Hydrocarbons in Drosophila americana and D. novamexicana

Lamb, Abigail M.; Wang, Zinan; Simmer, Patricia; Chung, Henry; Wittkopp, Patricia J.

doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.00184

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, we found weak and variable expression of Gal4 by the Nanos driver and were unable to obtain robust induction of the miRNA. A recent study found similarly unreliable expression of Cas9 using Nanos in the closely related Drosophila novamexicana ( Lamb et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Gametic specialization of centromeric histone paralogs in Drosophila virilis

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In most eukaryotes, centromeric histone (CenH3) proteins mediate mitosis and meiosis and ensure epigenetic inheritance of centromere identity. We hypothesized that disparate chromatin environments in soma versus germline might impose divergent functional requirements on single CenH3 genes, which could be ameliorated by gene duplications and subsequent specialization. Here, we analyzed the cytological localization of two recently identified CenH3 paralogs, Cid1 and Cid5, in Drosophila virilis using specific antibodies and epitope-tagged transgenic strains. We find that only ancestral Cid1 is present in somatic cells, whereas both Cid1 and Cid5 are expressed in testes and ovaries. However, Cid1 is lost in male meiosis but retained throughout oogenesis, whereas Cid5 is lost during female meiosis but retained in mature sperm. Following fertilization, only Cid1 is detectable in the early embryo, suggesting that maternally deposited Cid1 is rapidly loaded onto paternal centromeres during the protamine-to-histone transition. Our studies reveal mutually exclusive gametic specialization of divergent CenH3 paralogs. Duplication and divergence might allow essential centromeric genes to resolve an intralocus conflict between maternal and paternal centromeric requirements in many animal species.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Gametic specialization of centromeric histone paralogs in Drosophila virilis

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…First, the distribution of both “long” versus “short” CHC phenotypes (shown here and in Lamb et al 2020), and allelic variation CG17821, indicate that the “short” phenotype and the CG17821 truncated allele are derived states that arose within the D. americana group. This shift most likely occurred in western lineages that gave rise to contemporary D. novamexicana .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…This association is further supported by additional CHC and sequence data from another D. americana population, originally collected in Anderson, IN (species stock center line 15010-0951.00, henceforth IN D. americana ). Lamb et al 2020 characterized CHC divergence between females from this IN D. americana stock and another D. novamexicana line (species stock center 15010-1031.04). The profile for the D. novamexicana line had no long compounds (>C30), a low abundance of C29 compounds, and presence of multiple short alkenes (<C27), consistent with the “short” CHC profile we observe for our D. novamexicana line.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A shift to shorter cuticular hydrocarbons accompanies sexual isolation amongDrosophila americanagroup populations

Davis

Pearcy

Yew

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because sensory signals often evolve rapidly, they could be instrumental in the emergence of reproductive isolation between species. However, pinpointing their specific contribution to isolating barriers, and the mechanisms underlying their divergence, remains challenging. Here we demonstrate sexual isolation due to divergence in chemical signals between members of the Drosophila americana group, dissect its underlying phenotypic and genetic mechanisms, and propose a model of its evolutionary history. Mating trials revealed complete sexual isolation between Drosophila novamexicana males and Drosophila americana texana females, as well as more moderate bi-directional isolation between D. americana subspecies. Mating behavior recordings indicate D. a. texana males have the highest courtship efficiency and, unlike males of the other two species, are accepted by females of all species. Quantification of cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, chemosensory signals that are used for species recognition and mate finding in Drosophila, shows that D. a. texana differs from the other two species primarily on the basis of compound carbon chain-length. Moreover, manipulation of male CHC composition via heterospecific perfuming—specifically perfuming D. novamexicana males with D. a. texana males—abolishes their sexual isolation from D. a. texana females. Evaluation of candidate genes for patterns of gene expression reveals a single gene—elongase CG17821—with patterns consistent with a causal role in CHC differences between species. Sequence comparisons indicate D. novamexicana and D. a. americana share a derived CG17821 truncation mutation that could also contribute to their shared “short” CHC phenotype. We present an evolutionary model for the origin and spread of this allele and the consequences for CHC divergence and sexual isolation in this group.

show abstract

“…D. americana has a dark body color with uniformly dark abdominal tergites, whereas D. novamexicana exhibits a light pigmentation along the abdominal midline [51], which is a typical pattern of the subgenus. A recent study used reciprocal hemizygosity testing to demonstrate that the difference in abdominal midline pigmentation intensity between the two species was due to ebony [52]. The authors showed that ebony is required for the development of light pigmentation along the dorsal midline in wild-type D. novamexicana .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A silencer repressing redundant enhancer activities revealed by deleting endogenouscis-regulatory element ofebonyinDrosophila melanogaster

Akiyama

Sato

Tanaka

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression is essential to ensure robust phenotypic outcomes. Pigmentation patterns in Drosophila are formed by the deposition of different pigments synthesized in the developing epidermis and the role of cis -regulatory elements (CREs) of melanin biosynthesis pathway-related genes is well-characterized. These CREs typically exhibit modular arrangement in the regulatory region of the gene with each enhancer regulating a specific spatiotemporal expression of the gene. However, recent studies have suggested that multiple enhancers of a number of developmental genes as well as those of yellow (involved in dark pigment synthesis) exhibit redundant activities. Here we report the redundant enhancer activities in the cis -regulatory region of another gene in the melanin biosynthesis pathway, ebony , in the developing epidermis of Drosophila melanogaster . The evidence was obtained by introducing an approximately 1 kbp deletion at the endogenous primary epidermis enhancer (priEE) by genome editing. The effect of the priEE deletion on pigmentation and on the endogenous expression pattern of a mCherry -tagged ebony allele was examined in the thoracic and abdominal segments. The expression level of ebony in the priEE-deleted strains was similar to that of the control strain, indicating the presence of redundant enhancer activities that drive the broad expression of ebony in the developing epidermis. Additionally, the priEE fragment contained a silencer that suppresses ebony expression in the dorsal midline of the abdominal tergites, which is necessary for the development of the subgenus Sophophora -specific dark pigmentation patterns along the midline. The endogenous expression pattern of ebony in the priEE-deleted strains and the reporter assay examining the autonomous activity of the priEE fragment indicated that the silencer is involved in repressing the activities of both proximal and distant enhancers. These results suggest that multiple silencers are dispensable in the regulatory system of a relatively stable taxonomic character. The prevalence of other redundant enhancers and silencers in the genome can be investigated using a similar approach.

show abstract

ebony Affects Pigmentation Divergence and Cuticular Hydrocarbons in Drosophila americana and D. novamexicana

Cited by 20 publications

References 40 publications

Gametic specialization of centromeric histone paralogs in Drosophila virilis

Gametic specialization of centromeric histone paralogs in Drosophila virilis

A shift to shorter cuticular hydrocarbons accompanies sexual isolation amongDrosophila americanagroup populations

A silencer repressing redundant enhancer activities revealed by deleting endogenouscis-regulatory element ofebonyinDrosophila melanogaster

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About