Genetic basis of octanoic acid resistance in Drosophila sechellia: functional analysis of a fine-mapped region.

ABSTRACT: Drosophila sechellia is a species of fruit fly endemic to the Seychelles islands. Unlike its generalist sister species, D. sechellia has evolved to be a specialist on the host plant Morinda citrifolia. This specialization is interesting because the plant's fruit contains secondary defence compounds, primarily octanoic acid (OA), that are lethal to most other Drosophilids. Although ecological and behavioural adaptations to this toxic fruit are known, the genetic basis for evolutionary changes in OA resistance is not. Prior work showed that a genomic region on chromosome 3R containing 18 genes has the greatest contribution to differences in OA resistance between D. sechellia and D. simulans. To determine which gene(s) in this region might be involved in the evolutionary change in OA resistan

SUBMITTER: Andrade Lopez JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5330365 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature