The Effect of Chromosomes on Courtship Behavior in Sibling Species of the IDrosophila virilis/I Group

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2023-07, Vol.14 (7)
• Main Authors: Belkina, Elena G, Seleznev, Dmitry G, Sorokina, Svetlana Yu, Kulikov, Alex M, Lazebny, Oleg E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Biological research; Biology, Experimental; Chromosomes; Courtship of animals; Drosophila; Genetic aspects; Genetic research
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects14070609

Courtship behavior has been the focus of research for a long time due to its association with one of the earliest and most effective mechanisms of interspecies isolation. The Drosophila virilis species group, which is a model for studying the mechanisms of evolution, has been studied extensively for various aspects of the courtship ritual, including the male courtship song. Despite genetic fine-mapping of this courtship behavior element, no genetic analysis of the ritual as a whole has been conducted. This study aimed to determine the effect of chromosomes on the latency and duration of courtship-ritual elements in the D. americana and D. virilis species system. Since the expression of the courtship-ritual structure depends on the behavior of both the female and the male, to study the inheritance of the courtship elements’ parameters, tests were carried out with reference partners (females and males of the original species) of representatives of different generations: parental, F[sub.1] , F[sub.2] , and backcrosses (F[sub.B] ). Structural equation modeling was used to process the parameter data for a series of courtship-ritual elements. The obtained results indicated that species-specific variability in courtship-element parameters in females is concentrated on the autosomes, while in males, it is concentrated on the X chromosome. This influence of the X chromosome in successful male courtship behavior may be a contributing factor in the lack of complete X chromosome demasculinization observed in Drosophila. Prezygotic isolation mechanisms, particularly courtship behavior, play a significant role in the formation of reproductive barriers. The action of these mechanisms leads to the coexistence of numerous closely related insect species with specific adaptations in a shared or adjacent territory. The genetic basis of these mechanisms has been studied using closely related Drosophila species, such as the D. virilis group. However, the investigation of individual courtship behavior elements has been limited until recently, and the effect of genotype on the species-specific features of courtship as a whole has not been thoroughly examined. It should be noted that courtship behavior is not a typical quantitative trait that can be easily measured or quantified in both females and males, similar to traits like wing length or bristle number. Each courtship element involves the participation of both female and male partners, making the genetic analysis of this beha