Genetic basis of a violation of Dollo's Law: re-evolution of rotating sex combs in Drosophila bipectinata.

ABSTRACT: Phylogenetic analyses suggest that violations of "Dollo's law"--that is, re-evolution of lost complex structures--do occur, albeit infrequently. However, the genetic basis of such reversals has not been examined. Here, we address this question using the Drosophila sex comb, a recently evolved, male-specific morphological structure composed of modified bristles. In some species, sex comb development involves only the modification of individual bristles, while other species have more complex "rotated" sex combs that are shaped by coordinated migration of epithelial tissues. Rotated sex combs were lost in the ananassae species subgroup and subsequently re-evolved, ∼12 million years later, in Drosophila bipectinata and its sibling species. We examine the genetic basis of the differences in sex

SUBMITTER: Seher TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3512151 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature