Emergence and diversification of fly pigmentation through evolution of a gene regulatory module

The typical pattern of morphological evolution associated with the radiation of a group of related species is the emergence of a novel trait and its subsequent diversification. Yet the genetic mechanisms associated with these two evolutionary steps are poorly characterized. Here, we show that a spot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 339; no. 6126; p. 1423
Main Authors: Arnoult, Laurent, Su, Kathy F Y, Manoel, Diogo, Minervino, Caroline, Magriña, Justine, Gompel, Nicolas, Prud'homme, Benjamin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 22.03.2013
Subjects:
Animals
Binding Sites
Biological Evolution
Drosophila - anatomy & histology
Drosophila - genetics
Drosophila - growth & development
Drosophila melanogaster - anatomy & histology
Drosophila melanogaster - genetics
Drosophila melanogaster - growth & development
Drosophila melanogaster - metabolism
Drosophila Proteins - genetics
Drosophila Proteins - metabolism
Evolution, Molecular
Gene Expression Profiling
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Gene Regulatory Networks
Genes, Insect
Homeodomain Proteins - genetics
Homeodomain Proteins - metabolism
Phylogeny
Pigmentation - genetics
Pigments, Biological - analysis
Pigments, Biological - metabolism
Pupa
RNA Interference
Transcription Factors - genetics
Transcription Factors - metabolism
Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology
Wings, Animal - chemistry
ISSN:1095-9203, 1095-9203
Online Access:Get more information
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Description
Summary:The typical pattern of morphological evolution associated with the radiation of a group of related species is the emergence of a novel trait and its subsequent diversification. Yet the genetic mechanisms associated with these two evolutionary steps are poorly characterized. Here, we show that a spot of dark pigment on fly wings emerged from the assembly of a novel gene regulatory module in which a set of pigmentation genes evolved to respond to a common transcriptional regulator determining their spatial distribution. The primitive wing spot pattern subsequently diversified through changes in the expression pattern of this regulator. These results suggest that the genetic changes underlying the emergence and diversification of wing pigmentation patterns are partitioned within genetic networks.
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ISSN:1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1233749