Coevolution between male and female genitalia in the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup.

ABSTRACT: In contrast to male genitalia that typically exhibit patterns of rapid and divergent evolution among internally fertilizing animals, female genitalia have been less well studied and are generally thought to evolve slowly among closely-related species. As a result, few cases of male-female genital coevolution have been documented. In Drosophila, female copulatory structures have been claimed to be mostly invariant compared to male structures. Here, we re-examined male and female genitalia in the nine species of the D. melanogaster subgroup. We describe several new species-specific female genital structures that appear to coevolve with male genital structures, and provide evidence that the coevolving structures contact each other during copulation. Several female structures might be defensiv

SUBMITTER: Yassin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3581563 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature