Enhanced flight performance by genetic manipulation of wing shape in Drosophila.
Enhanced flight performance by genetic manipulation of wing shape in Drosophila.
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms10851
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发表时间：
2016-03-01
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Bomphrey RJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ray RP;Nakata T;Henningsson P;Bomphrey RJ
昆虫翅膀的形状非常不同，形状和运动学的结合决定了飞行能力和动力需求。然而，任何特定的形态特征对性能的贡献尚不清楚。使用靶向RNA干扰来修改机翼形状，远远超出单一物种种群内的自然变异，我们展示了对飞行性能的直接影响，这可以通过对新型机翼几何形状的物理建模来解释。我们的数据显示，改变单个基因的表达可以显著提高空中敏捷性，因此，果蝇的翅膀形状并不适合某些已知的重要飞行性能特征。我们的技术为动物表演特长的进化实验指明了一个新的方向。昆虫的翅膀面临着多重竞争的选择压力，但在自然种群中哪些是重要的尚不清楚。使用RNAi修改机翼形状，Ray等人。研究表明，果蝇的空中敏捷性可以显著提高，这表明自然变异并不仅仅反映了飞行敏捷性的优化。
Insect wing shapes are remarkably diverse and the combination of shape and kinematics determines both aerial capabilities and power requirements. However, the contribution of any specific morphological feature to performance is not known. Using targeted RNA interference to modify wing shape far beyond the natural variation found within the population of a single species, we show a direct effect on flight performance that can be explained by physical modelling of the novel wing geometry. Our data show that altering the expression of a single gene can significantly enhance aerial agility and that the Drosophila wing shape is not, therefore, optimized for certain flight performance characteristics that are known to be important. Our technique points in a new direction for experiments on the evolution of performance specialities in animals. Insect wings are under multiple competing selection pressures, but which are important in natural populations is not clear. Using RNAi to modify wing shape, Ray et al. show that aerial agility can be significantly enhanced in Drosophila, suggesting that natural variation does not reflect an optimization solely for flight agility.