The Drosophila bag of marbles Gene Interacts Genetically with Wolbachia and Shows Female-Specific Effects of Divergence.

ABSTRACT: Many reproductive proteins from diverse taxa evolve rapidly and adaptively. These proteins are typically involved in late stages of reproduction such as sperm development and fertilization, and are more often functional in males than females. Surprisingly, many germline stem cell (GSC) regulatory genes, which are essential for the earliest stages of reproduction, also evolve adaptively in Drosophila. One example is the bag of marbles (bam) gene, which is required for GSC differentiation and germline cyst development in females and for regulating mitotic divisions and entry to spermatocyte differentiation in males. Here we show that the extensive divergence of bam between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans affects bam function in females but has no apparent effect in males. We further

SUBMITTER: Flores HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4546362 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature