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Nature 423, 699-700 (12 June 2003) | doi:10.1038/423699a

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Evolutionary biology: Genes to make new species

Mohamed A. F. Noor

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A long-term goal of studies of the way in which new species form has been to identify the genes involved, and the forces that drive their evolution. That goal is now being realized — and natural selection plays a major part.

For some 70 years, researchers have been crossing different fruitfly species in an attempt to answer one of the most fundamental questions in evolutionary biology: what are the genetic changes that cause one species to split into two? Speciation is known to involve genes that prevent two individuals from mating — or, if they do mate, from producing living, fertile offspring.