TY - JOUR
T1 - An innovative ovipositor for niche exploitation impacts genital coevolution between sexes in a fruit-damaging Drosophila
AU - Muto, Leona
AU - Kamimura, Yoshitaka
AU - Tanaka, Kentaro M.
AU - Takahashi, Aya
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).
PY - 2018/9/26
Y1 - 2018/9/26
N2 - Limited attention has been given to ecological factors influencing the coevolution of male and female genitalia. The innovative ovipositor of Drosophila suzukii, an invading fruit pest, represents an appealing case to document this phenomenon. The serrated saw-like ovipositor is used to pierce the hard skin of ripening fruits that are not used by other fruit flies that prefer soft decaying fruits. Here, we highlight another function of the ovipositor related to its involvement in genital coupling during copulation. We compared the morphology and coupling of male and female genitalia in this species to its sibling species, Drosophila subpulchrella, and to an outgroup species, Drosophila biarmipes. These comparisons and a surgical manipulation indicated that the shape of male genitalia in D. suzukii has had to be adjusted to ensure tight coupling, despite having to abandon the use of a hook-like structure, paramere, because of the more linearly elongated ovipositor. This phenomenon demonstrates that ecological niche exploitation can directly affect the mechanics of genital coupling and potentially cause incompatibility among divergent forms. This model case provides new insights towards elucidating the importance of the dual functions of ovipositors in other insect species that potentially induce genital coevolution and ecological speciation.
AB - Limited attention has been given to ecological factors influencing the coevolution of male and female genitalia. The innovative ovipositor of Drosophila suzukii, an invading fruit pest, represents an appealing case to document this phenomenon. The serrated saw-like ovipositor is used to pierce the hard skin of ripening fruits that are not used by other fruit flies that prefer soft decaying fruits. Here, we highlight another function of the ovipositor related to its involvement in genital coupling during copulation. We compared the morphology and coupling of male and female genitalia in this species to its sibling species, Drosophila subpulchrella, and to an outgroup species, Drosophila biarmipes. These comparisons and a surgical manipulation indicated that the shape of male genitalia in D. suzukii has had to be adjusted to ensure tight coupling, despite having to abandon the use of a hook-like structure, paramere, because of the more linearly elongated ovipositor. This phenomenon demonstrates that ecological niche exploitation can directly affect the mechanics of genital coupling and potentially cause incompatibility among divergent forms. This model case provides new insights towards elucidating the importance of the dual functions of ovipositors in other insect species that potentially induce genital coevolution and ecological speciation.
KW - Drosophila subpulchrella
KW - Drosophila suzukii
KW - coevolution between the sexes
KW - mechanical incompatibility
KW - morphology of genitalia
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U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2018.1635
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2018.1635
M3 - Article
C2 - 30257912
AN - SCOPUS:85054501869
VL - 285
JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8436
IS - 1887
M1 - 20181635
ER -