Identification of misregulated gene products and disrupted genetic pathways in male hybrids of Drosophila pseudoobscura and D. persimilis

尽管物种间杂交的不育性已被反复记录，但其遗传原因却鲜为人知，而且只有一个基因可能直接导致杂交不育。杂交不育可能是由于基因未能触发其他基因，因此最终扰乱了产生功能精子的过程。我们建议使用一种新的方法来确定在两个果蝇物种中哪些基因是活跃的，但在它们的杂交物种中是不活跃的，从而确定已经被扰乱的导致不育的调控途径。现代进化生物学家对基因如何在种群内进化有令人印象深刻的理解，但对一个物种如何分裂成两个物种的理解相对较差，比如当它们的杂交物种是不育的时候。这项研究将阐明物种形成的机制，为调节地球生物多样性的基本进化过程提供洞察力。

Although sterility in hybrids between species has been documented repeatedly, its genetic causes are poorly understood, and only one gene that may contribute directly to hybrid sterility has been identified. Hybrid sterility may be caused by genes failing to trigger other genes in what are referred to as "regulatory pathways", hence ultimately disrupting the processes that produce functional sperm. We propose to use a novel method to identify which genes are active in two Drosophila species but inactive in their hybrids, hence identifying the regulatory pathways that have been disrupted resulting in sterility.Modern evolutionary biologists have an impressive understanding of how genes evolve within populations, but a relatively poor understanding of how one species splits into two, as when their hybrids are sterile. This research will illuminate the mechanisms of speciation, providing insights into the fundamental evolutionary processes that regulate biodiversity on earth.