Kopp A, Duncan I, Godt D, Carroll S B
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 53706-1596, USA.
Nature. 2000 Nov 30;408(6812):553-9. doi: 10.1038/35046017.
Sexually dimorphic abdominal pigmentation and segment morphology evolved recently in the melanogaster species group of the fruitfly Drosophila. Here we show that these traits are controlled by the bric à brac [corrected] (bab) gene, which integrates regulatory inputs from the homeotic and sex-determination pathways. bab expression is modulated segment- and sex-specifically in sexually dimorphic species, but is uniform in sexually monomorphic species. We suggest that bab has an ancestral homeotic function, and that regulatory changes at the bab locus played a key role in the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Pigmentation patterns specified by bab affect mating preferences, suggesting that sexual selection has contributed to the evolution of bab regulation.
果蝇黑腹果蝇种组中，腹部色素沉着和体节形态的两性异形是最近才进化出来的。我们在此表明，这些性状受间断基因（bab）控制，该基因整合了来自同源异型和性别决定途径的调控输入。在两性异形的物种中，bab的表达在体节和性别上具有特异性调节，但在两性单形的物种中则是一致的。我们认为，bab具有祖先的同源异型功能，并且bab基因座的调控变化在两性异形的进化中起了关键作用。由bab指定的色素沉着模式会影响交配偏好，这表明性选择促进了bab调控的进化。
