DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The genetics of female preference in Drosophila subquinaria

新物种是如何产生的？进化生物学的一个中心目标是了解新物种是如何形成的，以及维持物种之间界限的过程。本研究将探讨加强物种间生殖屏障的选择是否也会导致物种内的生殖隔离。该项目的具体目标是剖析亚种果蝇（Drosophila subquinaria）雌性择偶的遗传基础，在亚种果蝇中，一些雌性对近亲物种的雄性以及对自己物种的某些雄性都表现出更大的行为歧视。利用杂交实验和基因组测序技术，这些实验将询问相同的基因区域是否会增加物种内部和物种之间的配偶歧视。除了促进我们对行为隔离和物种形成的遗传基础的理解外，这项研究还将涉及果蝇的奎那利亚类群的遗传资源的开发，这是一个最近经历了辐射的类群，具有相当大的潜力作为进化、生态和行为遗传研究的模型系统。这笔资金还将为女研究生以及来自不同背景的本科生和高中生提供行为学、遗传学和生物信息学领域的研究培训。

How do new species arise? A central goal of evolutionary biology is to understand how new species form and the processes that maintain boundaries between species. This research will investigate whether selection to strengthen reproductive barriers between species may, as a consequence, also initiate reproductive isolation within species. The specific goal of this project is to dissect the genetic basis of female mate preference in the fly Drosophila subquinaria, a species where some females display increased behavioral discrimination both against males of a closely related species as well as against certain males of their own species. Using crossing experiments and genome sequencing technologies, the experiments will ask whether the same genetic regions confer increased mate discrimination within and between species. In addition to advancing our understanding of the genetic basis of behavioral isolation and speciation, this research will also involve the development of genetic resources for the quinaria group of Drosophila, a group that has undergone a recent radiation and has considerable potential as model system for evolutionary, ecological, and behavior genetic studies. This funding will also provide research training in the areas of behavior, genetics, and bioinformatics for a female graduate student as well as for undergraduate and high school students from diverse backgrounds.