Research report 2013 - Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

The genetic basis of evolutionary change in the sexual communication system of moths

Authors
Groot, Astrid T.; Heckel, David G.
Departments
Abteilung Entomologie
Summary
Female moths attract mates using their pheromones. Any deviation from producing the optimal blend by females, or any tendency to follow a different blend by males, results in reduced mating success and should be selected against. This poses an enigma: in the face of such strong stabilizing selection, how could the different pheromone blends now used by different moth species have evolved? Genetic studies provide a clue: a surprising amount of genetic variation can exist within species, and some of this variation can account for the evolution of differences between species.

For the full text, see the German version.

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