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Updated: Apr 16, 2026
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Quantifying Abdominal Pigmentation in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: June 1, 2017
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A single gene causes an interspecific difference in pigmentation in Drosophila
Yasir H Ahmed-Braimah1, Andrea L Sweigart2
1Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 yasir.ahmed@rochester.edu.
Genetics
|March 15, 2015
Summary
A single gene, dopamine N-acetyltransferase (Dat), controls puparium color differences between Drosophila species. This finding sheds light on the genetic basis of morphological evolution in insects.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary genetics
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Genetic basis of species differences is understudied.
- Insect pigmentation pathways offer insights into morphological evolution.
- Drosophila species exhibit variations in puparium color.
Purpose of the Study:
- Genetically analyze puparium color difference in Drosophila virilis group.
- Map the genomic region responsible for color variation.
- Investigate the role of dopamine N-acetyltransferase (Dat) in pigmentation.
Main Methods:
- Backcross hybrid populations between Drosophila americana and D. virilis.
- Genomic mapping to identify responsible genetic interval.
- Gene expression analysis during pupation.
Main Results:
- Pupal case color difference is controlled by a single Mendelizing factor.
- The factor maps to an ~11-kb region on chromosome 5, including the dopamine N-acetyltransferase (Dat) gene.
- Dat is highly expressed in light brown puparia but not in dark brown or adult stages.
Conclusions:
- A single gene, Dat, is primarily responsible for puparium color differences between Drosophila species.
- This highlights the significant role of specific genes in driving morphological divergence.
- Further research can explore Dat's role in other understudied taxa.
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