Pleiotropic effects ofebonyandtanon pigmentation and cuticular hydrocarbon composition inDrosophila melanogaster
| Autor: | Klaus Dreisewerd, Noriyoshi Akiyama, Joanne Y. Yew, Tanja Bien, Patricia J. Wittkopp, Jonathan Massey, Aya Takahashi |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Genetics 0303 health sciences integumentary system biology Mutant biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Phenotype 03 medical and health sciences Genetic variation Melanogaster Mating Drosophila melanogaster skin and connective tissue diseases Drosophila Gene 030304 developmental biology |
| Popis: | Pleiotropic genes are genes that affect more than one trait. For example, many genes required for pigmentation in the fruit flyDrosophila melanogasteralso affect traits such as circadian rhythms, vision, and mating behavior. Here, we present evidence that two pigmentation genes,ebonyandtan, which encode enzymes catalyzing reciprocal reactions in the melanin biosynthesis pathway, also affect cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) composition inD. melanogasterfemales. More specifically, we report thatebonyloss-of-function mutants have a CHC profile that is biased toward long (>25C) chain CHCs, whereastanloss-of-function mutants have a CHC profile that is biased toward short (ebonymutants, making the CHC profiles similar to those seen intanmutants. These observations suggest that genetic variation affectingebonyand/ortanactivity might cause correlated changes in pigmentation and CHC composition in natural populations. We tested this possibility using theDrosophilaGenetic Reference Panel (DGRP) and found that CHC composition covaried with pigmentation as well as levels ofebonyandtanexpression in newly eclosed adults in a manner consistent with theebonyandtanmutant phenotypes. These data suggest that the pleiotropic effects ofebonyandtanmight contribute to covariation of pigmentation and CHC profiles inDrosophila. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|