Abstract
Reproductive-isolating mechanisms between nascent species may involve sperm-egg recognition and have been best described in externally fertilizing organisms where such recognition is essential in preventing undesirable fertilizations. However, reproductive barriers in internally fertilizing species differ in significant ways, and a direct role for sperm-egg interactions has yet to be demonstrated. Females of many strains of Drosophila melanogaster from Zimbabwe, Africa, do not mate readily with cosmopolitan males. This polymorphism in mate choice is postulated to represent incipient speciation. We now report that, in one direction, crosses between the above populations produce far fewer offspring than reciprocal crosses due to a lower rate of egg hatch. We established that egg inviability in these crosses was due to defects in fertilization. Thus, even in taxa with internal fertilization, gametic incompatibility may be a mechanism relevant to reproductive isolation during incipient speciation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 789-795 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Volume | 268 |
Issue number | 1469 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 22 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Drosophila melanogaster
- Gametic incompatibility
- Incipient speciation
- Reproductive isolation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Immunology and Microbiology
- General Environmental Science
- General Agricultural and Biological Sciences