Drosophila Acp Evolution

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

In Drosophila, males transfer a large number of accessory gland proteins (Acps) to females along with sperm. These proteins have several effects on female physiology. They also affect patterns of sperm use (female flies store sperm in specialized organs). Furthermore, these proteins may affect the outcome of sperm competition, which occurs when a female mates with multiple males. Acps show highly unusual patterns of evolution and variation, perhaps as a result of natural selection. The proposed work uses DNA sequence analysis and quantitative measures of transcription at Acps to measure variation in amino acid sequence and gene expression within Drosophila melanogaster and between D. melanogaster and three closely related species. The goal of the work is to reveal the evolutionary mechanisms leading to the unusually high rates of evolution in these genes. Males and females interact in each generation to reproduce. Understanding the cooperation and conflicts that arise as result of these interactions is an important area of biology. Acps are likely to be important proteins mediating the mechanistic and evolutionary aspects of male-female interactions. Therefore, revealing the evolutionary mechanisms underlying variation in these genes may provide general insights into such interactions in animals.