Selection for increased female sexual receptivity in raised stocks of Drosophila melanogaster. 1995

S P McRobert, and F B Schnee, and L Tompkins
Department of Biology, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131, USA.

Two third-chromosome mutations in raised (rsd) stocks, when homozygous, cause the wings of Drosophila melanogaster adults to be held upright. Males expressing these mutations cannot vibrate their wings to produce the courtship song, which functions to increase female receptivity to copulation. As expected, rsd males are less successful when courting wild-type females. However, females from long-established rsd stocks are more receptive to courtship stimuli and mate more readily with both rsd and wild-type males than do wild-type females. Genetic analysis reveals dominant factors on the X and third chromosomes that, in combination, are responsible for the increased receptivity of rsd females. These observations suggest that the lack of courtship song in rsd stocks, which would be expected to reduce the vigor of the stock, may have functioned as a selective force, favoring mutations that increased female receptivity. Possible consequences of selection favoring the development of differential female receptivity on speciation are discussed.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D009154 Mutation Any detectable and heritable change in the genetic material that causes a change in the GENOTYPE and which is transmitted to daughter cells and to succeeding generations. Mutations
D002874 Chromosome Mapping Any method used for determining the location of and relative distances between genes on a chromosome. Gene Mapping,Linkage Mapping,Genome Mapping,Chromosome Mappings,Gene Mappings,Genome Mappings,Linkage Mappings,Mapping, Chromosome,Mapping, Gene,Mapping, Genome,Mapping, Linkage,Mappings, Chromosome,Mappings, Gene,Mappings, Genome,Mappings, Linkage
D004331 Drosophila melanogaster A species of fruit fly frequently used in genetics because of the large size of its chromosomes. D. melanogaster,Drosophila melanogasters,melanogaster, Drosophila
D005260 Female Females
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012641 Selection, Genetic Differential and non-random reproduction of different genotypes, operating to alter the gene frequencies within a population. Natural Selection,Genetic Selection,Selection, Natural
D012726 Sexual Behavior, Animal Sexual activities of animals. Mating Behavior, Animal,Sex Behavior, Animal,Animal Mating Behavior,Animal Mating Behaviors,Animal Sex Behavior,Animal Sex Behaviors,Animal Sexual Behavior,Animal Sexual Behaviors,Mating Behaviors, Animal,Sex Behaviors, Animal,Sexual Behaviors, Animal
D017344 Genes, Insect The functional hereditary units of INSECTS. Insect Genes,Gene, Insect,Insect Gene

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