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Genetic variation for sexual dimorphism in developmental traits in Drosophila melanogaster

  • Stony Brook University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism in traits of insects during the developmental stages could potentially be the direct or indirect result of sex-specific selection provided that genetic variation for sexual dimorphism is present. We investigated genetic variation in sexual dimorphism in a set of Drosophila melanogaster inbred lines for 2 traits: egg to adult development time and pupation site preference. We observed considerable genetic variation in sexual dimorphism among lines in both traits. The sexual dimorphic patterns remained relatively consistent across multiple trials, despite both traits being sensitive to environmental conditions. Additionally, we measured 2 sexually dimorphic adult morphological traits in 6 sampled lines and investigated correlations in the sexual dimorphism patterns with the 2 developmental traits. The abundance of genetic variation in sexual dimorphism for D. melanogaster developmental traits demonstrated in this study provides evidence for a high degree of evolvability of sex differences in preadult traits in natural populations.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberjkae010
JournalG3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
Volume14
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2024

Keywords

  • Drosophila
  • evolvability
  • inbred lines
  • sexual dimorphism

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