Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2017
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E85
Höfundar / Authors: Baldur Kristjánsson (1), Dagný Ásta Rúnarsdóttir (1), Arnar Pálsson (1), Sudarshan Chari (2), Ian Dworkin (3)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. University of Iceland, 2. Priceton University, 3. McMaster University
Kynnir / Presenter: Baldur Kristjánsson
Evolution occurs by tinkering, whereby existing structures and genes are polished and/or reused for adaptation and evolutionary novelties. Novel features result from natural selection promoting and fixing in populations mutations that generate favorable phenotypes. We study material from a major long-term artificial selection experiment. This experiment was done on populations of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) first by altering their genetic make-up by introgression of 3 deleterious alleles (in vestigial, rhomboid and net) into wild type fly population. This lead to severe changes in the wing. Next artificial selected was applied, that is propagation the individuals with the best wings, for 24 to 32 generations. This led to full compensation, the wings became wild-type, in 3 replicate populations. In contrast, control lineages whereas natural selection was free to act, showed no change in wing morphology. This shows that wild populations harbor cryptic genetic diversity, that selection can act on to adjust (or compensate for changes in) phenotypic traits. In this project we ask, how does the developmental regulatory system respond to such changes? Using Illumina whole transcriptome sequencing of wing discs from roaming third instar larvae, we seek to answer this question.