Expression Divergence of Chemosensory Genes between Drosophila sechellia and Its Sibling Species and Its Implications for Host Shift.

ABSTRACT: Drosophila sechellia relies exclusively on the fruits of Morinda citrifolia, which are toxic to most insects, including its sibling species Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans. Although several odorant binding protein (Obp) genes and olfactory receptor (Or) genes have been suggested to be associated with the D. sechellia host shift, a broad view of how chemosensory genes have contributed to this shift is still lacking. We therefore studied the transcriptomes of antennae, the main organ responsible for detecting food resource and oviposition, of D. sechellia and its two sibling species. We wanted to know whether gene expression, particularly chemosensory genes, has diverged between D. sechellia and its two sibling species. Using a very stringent definition of differential gene e

SUBMITTER: Shiao MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4684695 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature