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A role of Ultrabithorax in morphological differences between Drosophila species

Nature volume 396, pages 463–466 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The mechanisms underlying the evolution of morphology are poorly understood1,2. Distantly related taxa sometimes exhibit correlations between morphological differences and patterns of gene expression3,4,5,6,7,8, but such comparisons cannot establish how mechanisms evolve to generate diverse morphologies. Answers to these questions require resolution of the nature of developmental evolution within and between closely related species. Here I show how the detailed regulation of the Hox gene Ultrabithorax patterns trichomes on the posterior femur of the second leg in Drosophila melanogaster, and that evolution of Ultrabithorax has contributed to divergence of this feature among closely related species. The cis-regulatory regions of Ultrabithorax, and not the protein itself, appear to have evolved. This study provides experimental evidence that cis-regulatory evolution is one way in which conserved proteins have promoted morphological diversity1.

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Figure 1: Trichome patterns on the posterior second femur vary among Drosophila species.
Figure 2: Ubx represses trichomes in the proximal naked cuticle in a dosage-dependent manner in D.melanogaster.
Figure 3: Uniform expression of Ubx in D.melanogaster represses trichomes on the posterior second femur during a short temporal window.
Figure 4: Distribution of Ubx protein in the posterior femurs of Drosophilaspecies.
Figure 5: The Ubx alleles from D.melanogaster and D. simulans produce different trichome patterns in identical hybrid backgrounds.

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Acknowledgements

I thank M. Akam for his patronage; N. Brown, J. Castelli-Gair and J. De Celis for fly tutelage; J. De Celis, E. Lewis, J. Roote and M. Ashburner for stocks; B. Yen and E.Sucena for technical assistance; and M. Akam, M. Ashburner, A. Gonzalez-Reyes, C. Mirth, L. Partridge and E. Sucena for comments. This work was supported by Churchill College, the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC.

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  1. David L. Stern

    Present address: Laboratory for Development and Evolution, University Museum of Zoology and Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK

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  1. Wellcome/CRC Institute, Tennis Court Road, CB2 1QR, Cambridge, UK

    David L. Stern

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Stern, D. A role of Ultrabithorax in morphological differences between Drosophila species. Nature 396, 463–466 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/24863

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