Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Mudd Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
Evolution. 2010 Aug;64(8):2238-45. doi: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01007.x. Epub 2010 Apr 14.
Diverging sexual communication systems can lead to the evolution of new species that no longer recognize each other as potential mates. The coevolution of male and female components of sexual communication is facilitated by physical linkage between genes underlying signals and preferences. By crossing two closely related Hawaiian crickets (Laupala kohalensis and Laupala paranigra) with vastly different song pulse rates and female preferences, and assessing segregation of songs and preferences among second generation backcrosses, we show a strong genetic correlation between song and preference variation. Furthermore, multiple, but not all, quantitative trait loci underlying song variation also predict female preferences. This physical linkage or pleiotropy may have facilitated the striking diversification of pulse rates observed among Laupala species in conjunction with one of the most rapid species radiations so far recorded.
性通讯系统的分歧会导致新物种的进化，这些新物种不再将彼此视为潜在的配偶。性通讯中雄性和雌性成分的共同进化是通过信号和偏好背后的基因之间的物理联系来促进的。通过将两种密切相关的夏威夷蟋蟀（Laupala kohalensis 和 Laupala paranigra）与差异极大的鸣叫声脉冲率和雌性偏好进行杂交，并评估第二代回交后代中鸣叫声和偏好的分离情况，我们发现鸣叫声和偏好变化之间存在很强的遗传相关性。此外，尽管不是所有的，但是与脉冲率变化相关的多个数量性状基因座也可以预测雌性偏好。这种物理联系或多效性可能有助于 Laupala 物种之间的脉冲率发生惊人的多样化，同时也是迄今为止记录到的最快的物种辐射之一。
