The genetics of hybrid male sterility in Drosophila virilis and D. americana

描述（由申请人提供）：广义上，拟议研究的目标是了解合子后生殖隔离的遗传基础。本研究将解决两个基本问题：1）杂交不亲和性如何在遗传和发育途径中产生，以及2）不亲和等位基因如何在自然群体中建立。这项研究的第一部分将使用高分辨率遗传图谱来寻找和表征导致果蝇和果蝇之间杂交雄性不育的基因。americana，两个物种在分歧的早期阶段。经典研究表明，D. virilis和D.当这两个物种杂交时，americana表现出相当大的种内异质性，这些异质性是导致杂种雄性不育的因素。因此，该系统提供了一个机会，以确定那些基因在杂交不亲和性首次出现。此外，了解杂种雄性不育的遗传基础可能有助于阐明人类不育的遗传学。本研究的第二部分将采用比较作图的方法来研究杂交雄性不育基因在自然群体内和群体间的变异。美国。最终，本研究的目的是采取分子群体遗传学的方法来研究杂交不亲和性和物种分化的进化动力学。 在果蝇中发现的一些杂种雄性不育基因可能与人类育性基因具有功能保守性。这项拟议的研究与公共卫生相关，因为对果蝇生育力的研究可用于了解人类生育力的遗传学。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Broadly, the goal of the proposed study is to understand the genetic basis of postzygotic reproductive isolation. Two fundamental problems will be addressed by this study: 1) how hybrid incompatibilities arise within genetic and developmental pathways, and 2) how incompatibility alleles become established in natural populations. The first part of the proposed study will use high-resolution genetic mapping to find and characterize genes that cause hybrid male sterility between Drosophila virilis and D. americana, two species in the early stages of divergence. Classic studies have shown that both D. virilis and D. americana exhibit substantial within-species heterogeneity for factors that contribute to hybrid male sterility when the two species are crossed. Therefore, this system provides an opportunity to identify those genes at which hybrid incompatibilities first appear. In addition, understanding the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility may shed light on the genetics of human infertility. The second part of the proposed study will take a comparative mapping approach to examine variation for hybrid male sterility genes within and between natural populations of D. americana. Ultimately, this research aims to take a molecular population genetics approach to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of hybrid incompatibility and species divergence. Some of the hybrid male sterility genes discovered in Drosophila might show functional conservation with human fertility genes. The proposed study is relevant to public health because studies of Drosophila fertility can be applied to understanding the genetics of human fertility.