Widespread cis ‐ and trans ‐regulatory evolution underlies the origin, diversification, and loss of a sexually dimorphic fruit fly pigmentation trait

AbstractMany of the characteristics associated with mammalian sleep are also observed in Drosophila, making the fruit-fly a powerful model organism for studying the genetics of this important process. Among these similarities is the presence of sexual dimorphic sleep patterns, which in flies, is manifested as increased mid-day sleep (‘siesta’) in males, compared to females. Here, we have used targeted miss-expression of the gene transformer (tra) and tra2 to either feminise or masculinise specific neural and non-neural tissues in the fly. Feminization of males using three different GAL4 drivers which are expressed in the mushroom bodies induced a female-like reduced siesta, while the masculinisation of females using these drivers triggered the male-like increased siesta. We also observed a similar reversal of sex-specific sleep by miss-expressing tra in the fat body, a key tissue in energy metabolism and hormone secretion. In addition, the daily expression levels of takeout, an important circadian clock output gene, were sexually dimorphic. Taken together, our experiments suggest that sleep-sexual dimorphism in Drosophila is driven by multiple neural and non-neural circuits, within and outside the brain.

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A new species of Bryconamericus (Characidae: Stevardiinae: Diapomini) from the upper rio Paraná basin, Brazil

Neotropical Ichthyology ◽

10.1590/1982-0224-20170028 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fernando C. Jerep ◽

Oscar A. Shibatta

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Valid Species ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Body Depth ◽

Fin Rays ◽

Paraná Basin ◽

Parana Basin ◽

Cis And Trans ◽

In Cis ◽

A New Species

ABSTRACT Bryconamericus is the most diverse genus within Stevardiinae, comprising 61 valid species distributed in Cis- and Trans-Andean basins from Panama in Central America to northern Argentina in South America. Three species are known from the upper rio Paraná basin: B. exodon, B. iheringii, and B. turiuba. Herein we describe a new species of Bryconamericus from the upper rio Paraná basin inhabiting tributaries of Ivaí, Piquiri, and Tibagi basins, Paraná State, Brazil. The new species differs from its congeners by the presence of unaligned teeth in the outer tooth row of the premaxilla; a single, vertical, dorsally expanded and rounded humeral spot; 36-39 pored scales in the longitudinal series; body depth 31.6-37.9% SL; anal-fin base length 24.8-30.1% SL; number of branched anal-fin rays 19-22, and bony hooks on pelvic- and anal-fin rays of sexually dimorphic males. The new species is syntopic with other Stervadiinae in the upper rio Paraná basin such as B. iheringii, B. turiuba, Piabarchus stramineus, and Piabina argentea.

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Sexually monomorphic wing pigmentation pattern does not contribute to mate choice in Drosophila guttifera

10.1101/2020.05.04.077909 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Takuma Niida ◽

Shigeyuki Koshikawa

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Visual Information ◽

Mating Behaviour ◽

Fruit Fly ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Dark Condition ◽

Wild Type ◽

Pigmentation Pattern ◽

Wing Pigmentation ◽

Courtship Sound

AbstractIn many animal groups, sexually dimorphic ornaments are thought to be evolved by intraspecific competition or mate choice. Some researchers pointed out that sexually monomorphic ornaments could also be evolved by mate choice by both sexes or either sex. Many species of fruit fly have sexually monomorphic wing pigmentation. However, involvement of their sexually monomorphic ornaments in mate choice has not been tested. We aimed to examine whether the sexually monomorphic polka-dotted pattern on wings of Drosophila guttifera contributes to mate choice. Because D. guttifera does not mate in the dark condition at all and courtship sound was not observed, some visual information is likely to be used in mating behaviour. We compared the number of mates between individuals with and without wings, and found that presence of wings influenced mate choice in both sexes. We then compared the number of mates between individuals bearing replaced wings, one group for conspecific D. guttifera wings and another group for heterospecific D. melanogaster wings with no pigmentation pattern. The effect of conspecific/heterospecific wings was only detected in mate choice by females. By comparison between wild-type and black-painted wings, we found no evidence of contribution of wing pigmentation pattern to mate choice in either sex.

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Molecular Mechanisms of Sexually Dimorphic Nervous System Patterning in Flies and Worms

Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology ◽

10.1146/annurev-cellbio-120319-115237 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 519-547

Author(s):

Stephen F. Goodwin ◽

Oliver Hobert

Keyword(s):

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Fruit Fly ◽

Model Systems ◽

Recent Analysis ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽

Animal Kingdom ◽

Detailed Understanding ◽

Sexual Dimorphisms ◽

Functional Differences

Male and female brains display anatomical and functional differences. Such differences are observed in species across the animal kingdom, including humans, but have been particularly well-studied in two classic animal model systems, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we summarize recent advances in understanding how the worm and fly brain acquire sexually dimorphic features during development. We highlight the advantages of each system, illustrating how the precise anatomical delineation of sexual dimorphisms in worms has enabled recent analysis into how these dimorphisms become specified during development, and how focusing on sexually dimorphic neurons in the fly has enabled an increasingly detailed understanding of sex-specific behaviors.

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