Evolution and development of male-specific leg brushes in Drosophilidae.

ABSTRACT: The origin, diversification, and secondary loss of sexually dimorphic characters are common in animal evolution. In some cases, structurally and functionally similar traits have evolved independently in multiple lineages. Prominent examples of such traits include the male-specific grasping structures that develop on the front legs of many dipteran insects. In this report, we describe the evolution and development of one of these structures, the male-specific "sex brush." The sex brush is composed of densely packed, irregularly arranged modified bristles and is found in several distantly related lineages in the family Drosophilidae. Phylogenetic analysis using 250 genes from over 200 species provides modest support for a single origin of the sex brush followed by many secondary losses; howe

SUBMITTER: Tanaka K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10375282 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature