Natural selection and sympatric divergence in the apple maggot Rhagoletis pomonella

In On the Origin of Species , Darwin proposed that natural selection had a fundamental role in speciation 1 . But this view receded during the Modern Synthesis when allopatric (geographic) models of speciation were integrated with genetic studies of hybrid sterility and inviability 2 , 3 . The sympa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2000-10, Vol.407 (6805), p.739-742
Main Authors: Filchak, Kenneth E., Roethele, Joseph B., Feder, Jeffrey L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Apples
Bacteria
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
Canada
Climate
Crataegus
Diptera - genetics
Diptera - physiology
Evolution
Fruits
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
Genotype-environment interactions
Humanities and Social Sciences
Insects
letter
Malus pumila
Models, Biological
multidisciplinary
Phenology
Rhagoletis pomonella
Rosales
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Selection, Genetic
Speciation
sympatric speciation
Tephritidae
USA
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Summary:In On the Origin of Species , Darwin proposed that natural selection had a fundamental role in speciation 1 . But this view receded during the Modern Synthesis when allopatric (geographic) models of speciation were integrated with genetic studies of hybrid sterility and inviability 2 , 3 . The sympatric hypothesis posits that ecological specialization after a host shift can result in speciation in the absence of complete geographic isolation 4 , 5 . The apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella , is a model for sympatric speciation in progress 4 , 5 . Hawthorn ( Crataegus spp.) is the native host for R. pomonella in N. America 5 . But in the mid-1800s, a new population formed on introduced, domesticated apple ( Malus pumila ) 4 , 5 . Recent studies 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 have conferred ‘host race’ status on apple flies as a potentially incipient species, partially isolated from haw flies owing to host-related adaptation. However, the source of selection that differentiates apple and haw flies is unresolved. Here we document a gene–environment interaction (fitness trade-off) that is related to host phenology and that genetically differentiates the races.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35037578