Saturday, 17 September 2016

evolution - Have we ever observed two drosophila lineages that evolved reproductive isolation in labs?


Background


The standard definition of species refers to the concept of reproductive isolation. If two lineages are found to be reproductively isolated, then we consider these two lineages to belong to different species. My question concerns evolved reproductive isolation in Drosophila sp. following labs due to experimental evolution.


Question


Have we ever demonstrated that two Drosophila sp. lineages that could initially interbreed (in nature or in labs) evolved through artificial selection (and drift and mutations) in labs to finally not be able to interbreed anymore either due pre- or post- zygotic isolation (see wiki)? Or, in other words, have we ever demonstrated that two drosophila lineages evolved to become different species (reproductive isolation definition) in labs experiments?


If not, have we ever observed some partial reproductive isolation such as inbreeding depression for example?





Note: This question is motivated by @LotusBiology that could not receive the answers she/he was waiting for because he/she failed to ask questions that are possibly answerable! So I wanted to ask this question that somehow addresses this question he/she asked (now on-hold)


For more information about the concept of species, please have a look at How could humans have interbred with Neanderthals if we're a different species?



Answer



Rice and Salt$^1$ bred fruit flies for 35 generations and from one line of flies created two groups that were isolated from each other reproductively. They could not interbreed because they no longer bred in the same environment. Depending on one's definition of 'species' this could be a case of artificial speciation.


$^1$Rice WR, Salt GW (1988), Speciation via disruptive selection on habitat preference: experimental evidence". The American Naturalist 131 (6): 911–917.


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