Correlated evolution of male and female reproductive traits drive a cascading effect of reinforcement in Drosophila yakuba.

ABSTRACT: Selection against maladaptive hybridization can drive the evolution of reproductive isolation in a process called reinforcement. While the importance of reinforcement in evolution has been historically debated, many examples now exist. Despite these examples, we typically lack a detailed understanding of the mechanisms limiting the spread of reinforced phenotypes throughout a species' range. Here we address this issue in the fruit fly Drosophila yakuba, a species that hybridizes with its sister species D. santomea and is undergoing reinforcement in a well-defined hybrid zone on the island of São Tomé. Within this region, female D. yakuba show increased postmating-prezygotic (gametic) isolation towards D. santomea when compared with females from allopatric populations. We use a combination

SUBMITTER: Comeault AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4971202 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature