Effects of selection and drift on genital morphology and accessory gland proteins in natural Drosophila melanogaster populations

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In insects and in particular in Drosophila, male genitalia and accessory gland proteins (Acp’s) show strikingly rapid and divergent evolution. Diversifying sexual selection rather than neutrality has been invoked to explain the patterns. However, the empirical evidence for this hypothesis remains scarce and largely restricted to inter-specific comparisons focussing on long-term evolutionary changes. This proposal on D. melanogaster addresses the relative impact of neutral genetic drift and selection operating on genital shape and Acp’s by comparing multiple natural populations. Furthermore, by contrasting different sets of populations with different population structure, my approach will be in particular informative to distinguish between different selection regimes. The results will provide insights into the evolutionary dynamics of male reproductive characters in general, but also into the role of sexual selection leading to population divergence before reproductive isolation occurred.