Dissertation Research: The Evolution and Development of Abdominal Pigmentation Patterns in Natural Populations of Drosophila polymorpha

[104977] templeton .腹部色素沉着模式在果蝇属中差异很大。特别是，南美洲的多形蝶显示出一系列腹部色素沉着模式，包括浅色、中间色和深色。这些变异的频率随时间和空间的变化而变化，表明这一特征是自然选择的结果，因此在物种的生态中很重要。本研究旨在从发育和种群遗传的角度来理解这种色素沉着模式多态性：1)研究导致物种内色素沉着差异的发育过程；2)将色素沉着差异与候选基因的变异联系起来；3)通过确定巴西自然种群遗传变异的空间分布，研究影响该性状当前地理分布的微观进化力量。只有少数类似的研究在微观进化水平上调查了形态进化的一般问题，其中只有一小部分研究解决了形成可变性状命运的进化力量。最后，该提案的独特之处在于它是一种多学科的方法，将美国和巴西的研究人员联合起来，并整合了来自发育生物学和种群遗传学的方法。

0104977TempletonAbdominal pigmentation pattern varies widely in the genus Drosophila.In particular, the South American species D. polymorpha exhibits a rangeof abdominal pigmentation patterns, with light, intermediate, and darkmorphs. The frequency of these morphs varies with time and space,indicating that this trait is under natural selection and thus importantin the ecology of the species. The proposed research aims to understandthis pigmentation pattern polymorphism from both developmental andpopulation genetic perspectives by: 1) examining the developmentalprocesses leading to pigmentation differences within the species; 2)correlating pigmentation differences with variation at candidate geneloci; and 3) examining the microevolutionary forces affecting currentgeographic distributions of the trait by determining the spatialdistribution of genetic variation in natural Brazilian populations.Only a few similar studies have investigated the general question ofmorphological evolution at such a microevolutionary level, and only asubset of these have addressed the evolutionary forces shaping the fateof a variable trait. Finally, this proposal is unique in that it is amultidisciplinary approach, uniting investigators and integratingmethods from both developmental biology and population genetics in both the United States and Brazil.