Resolving between novelty and homology in the rapidly evolving phallus of Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: The genitalia present some of the most rapidly evolving anatomical structures in the animal kingdom, possessing a variety of parts that can distinguish recently diverged species. In the Drosophila melanogaster group, the phallus is adorned with several processes, pointed outgrowths, that are similar in size and shape between species. However, the complex three-dimensional nature of the phallus can obscure the exact connection points of each process. Previous descriptions based upon adult morphology have primarily assigned phallic processes by their approximate positions in the phallus and have remained largely agnostic regarding their homology relationships. In the absence of clearly identified homology, it can be challenging to model when each structure first evolved. Here, we employ a co

SUBMITTER: Rice GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10155935 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature