The molecular mechanism of speciation by sensory drive

在过去的几年里，我们通过显示视蛋白的适应性、视蛋白的不同自然选择和雄性繁殖颜色的差异，展示了感觉驱动物种形成（感觉信号系统对不同环境的适应性导致交配前隔离）的明确例子。在这里，我们证明了感觉驱动物种形成的签名是常见的维多利亚湖慈鲷。我们收集了维多利亚湖从近水面到最深处的物种，并分析了它们的视蛋白。强自然选择固定长波长敏感的视蛋白，LWS，和RH1等位基因在不同的环境光环境中具有不同的预测吸光度特性。通过表达和重组它们并测量吸光度，我们表明固定的LWS和RH1等位基因使种群适应不同的光环境。视觉系统的适应性进化与雄性明显的繁殖色的进化相一致。我们的研究结果表明，雄性色彩的进化是视觉敏感性适应的结果，导致种群的生殖隔离。

Last a few years, we demonstrated clear-cut examples of sensory drive speciation (adaptation in sensory for signaling systems to different environments cause premating isolation) by showing adaptations of opsins, divergent natural selection on opsins, and divergence in male breeding coloration. Here, we demonstrate that the signatures of sensory drive speciation are commonly observed in Lake Victoria cichlids. We collected species from near the surface to the deepest bottom in Lake Victoria, and analyzed their opsins. Strong natural selection fixed long wavelength sensitive opsin, LWS, and RH1 alleles with different predicted light absorbance properties at different ambient light environments. By expressing and reconstituting them and measuring absorbance, we show that the fixed LWS and RH1 alleles adapt populations to different light environments. The adaptive evolution of the visual system coincides with the evolution in male conspicuous breeding coloration. Our results demonstrate that the male coloration evolving as a consequence of adaptation of visual sensitivities, leading to reproductive isolation of populations.