GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00001224
Main curator
Martin
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Drosophila spp.
Trait State in Taxon B
Drosophila mimetica
Ancestral State
Data not curated
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Latin Name
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Drosophila (Drosophila); Drosophila (Drosophila) Fallen, 1823
Rank
subgenus
Lineage
Show more ... icondylia; Pterygota; Neoptera; Holometabola; Diptera; Brachycera; Muscomorpha; Eremoneura; Cyclorrhapha; Schizophora; Acalyptratae; Ephydroidea; Drosophilidae; Drosophilinae; Drosophilini; Drosophila
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Common Name
-
Synonyms
-
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... era; Brachycera; Muscomorpha; Eremoneura; Cyclorrhapha; Schizophora; Acalyptratae; Ephydroidea; Drosophilidae; Drosophilinae; Drosophilini; Drosophila; Sophophora; melanogaster group; suzukii subgroup
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Molecular Details of the Mutation
within a 740bp-element
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Prud'homme B; Gompel N; Rokas A; Kassner VA; Williams TM; Yeh SD; True JR; Carroll SB
Abstract
The independent evolution of morphological similarities is widespread. For simple traits, such as overall body colour, repeated transitions by means of mutations in the same gene may be common. However, for more complex traits, the possible genetic paths may be more numerous; the molecular mechanisms underlying their independent origins and the extent to which they are constrained to follow certain genetic paths are largely unknown. Here we show that a male wing pigmentation pattern involved in courtship display has been gained and lost multiple times in a Drosophila clade. Each of the cases we have analysed (two gains and two losses) involved regulatory changes at the pleiotropic pigmentation gene yellow. Losses involved the parallel inactivation of the same cis-regulatory element (CRE), with changes at a few nucleotides sufficient to account for the functional divergence of one element between two sibling species. Surprisingly, two independent gains of wing spots resulted from the co-option of distinct ancestral CREs. These results demonstrate how the functional diversification of the modular CREs of pleiotropic genes contributes to evolutionary novelty and the independent evolution of morphological similarities.
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