Abstract
X-linked meiotic drive causing female-biased progenies is known to occur in nine Drosophila species and is called ‘sex-ratio’. In D. mediopunctata this trait is associated with the X:21 chromosome inversion and has variable expression. We describe here a powerful Y-linked suppressor system of sex-ratio expression in this species. There are two types of Y chromosomes (suppressor and nonsuppressor) and two types of X:21 chromosomes (suppressible and unsuppressible). Sex-ratio expression is suppressed in males with the 21suppressibe/Ysuppressor genotype, whereas the remaining three genotypes produce female-biased progenies.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Beckenbach, A T, Curtsinger, J W, and Policansky, D. 1982. Fruitless experiments with fruit flies: the ‘sex-ratio’ chromosomes of D. pseudoobscura. Drosoph Inf Serv, 58, 22.
Bull, J J, and Charnov, E L. 1988. How fundamental are Fisherian sex ratios? In: Harvey, P. H. and Partridge, L. (eds) Oxford Surveys on Evolutionary Biology, vol. 5, pp. 96–135. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Carvalho, A B. 1989. Sex-ratio em Drosophila mediopunctata. M. Sc. Thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Carvalho, A B, Peixoto, A A, and Klaczko, L B. 1989. Sex-ratio in Drosophila mediopunctata. Heredity, 62, 425–428.
Carvalho, A B, and Klaczko, L B. 1992. Age and sex-ratio expression in Drosophila mediopunctata. Genetica, 87, 107–111.
Carvalho, A B, and Klaczko, L B. 1993. Autosomal suppressors of sex-ratio in Drosophila mediopunctata. Heredity, 71, 546–551.
Clark, A G. 1987. Natural selection and Y-linked polymorphism. Genetics, 115, 569–577.
Conover, D O, and Voorhees, D A. 1990. Evolution of a balanced sex ratio by frequency-dependent selection in a fish. Science, 250, 1556–1558.
Coyne, J A, and Orr, H A. 1989. Two rules of speciation. In: Otte, D. and Endler, J. (eds) Speciation and its Consequences, pp. 189–211. Sinauer Press, Sunderland, MA.
Curtsinger, J W. 1991. X-chromosome segregation distortion in Drosophila. Am Nat, 137, 344–348.
Fisher, R A. 1930. The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection. Claredon Press, Oxford.
Frank, S A. 1991. Divergence of meiotic drive suppression systems as an explanation for sex-biased hybrid sterility and inviability. Evolution, 45, 262–267.
Gershenson, S. 1928. A new sex-ratio abnormality in D. obscura. Genetics, 13, 488–507.
Hamilton, W D. 1967. Extraordinary sex ratios. Science, 156, 477–488.
Hurst, L D, and Pomiankowski, A. 1991. Causes of sex ratio bias may account for unisexuality in hybrids: a new explanation of Haldane's rule and related phenomena. Genetics, 128, 841–858.
James, A C, and Jaenike, J. 1990. “Sex ratio” meiotic drive in Drosophila testacea. Genetics, 126, 651–656.
Lyttle, T W. 1991. The genetics and evolutionary biology of meiotic drive. Am Nat, 137, 281–282.
Policansky, D, and Dempsey, B. 1978. Modifiers and “sex ratio” in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Evolution, 32, 922–924.
Sandler, L, and Novitsky, E. 1957. Meiotic drive as an evolutionary force. Am Nat, 91, 105–110.
Stalker, H D. 1961. The genetic systems modifying meiotic drive in Drosophila paramelanica. Genetics, 46, 177–202.
Thomsom, G J, and Feldman, M W. 1975. Population genetics of modifiers of meiotic drive: IV. On the evolution of sex-ratio distortion. Theor Pop Biol, 8, 202–211.
Voelker, R A. 1972. Preliminary characterization of “sex ratio” and rediscovery and reinterpretation of “male sex ratio” in Drosophila affinis. Genetics, 71, 597–606.
Wallace, B. 1948. Studies on “sex ratio” in Drosophila pseudoobscura. I. Selection and “sex ratio”. Evolution, 2, 189–217.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bernardo De Carvalho, A., Bernard Klaczkot, L. Y-linked suppressors of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila mediopunctata. Heredity 73, 573–579 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1994.164
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1994.164
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Evolutionary Genetics of Drosophila Mediopunctata
Genetica (2006)
-
Heritability of sexual proportion in experimental sex-ratio populations of Drosophila mediopunctata
Heredity (1997)
-
The genetic mechanism of sex determination in the androdioecious flowering plant, Datisca glomerata (Datiscaceae)
Heredity (1997)