The Drosophila ananassae species complex: Evolutionary relationships among different members

Abstract

Information about genetic structure and historical demography of natural populations is central to understanding how natural selection changes genomes. Drosophila ananassae is a widespread species occurring in geographically isolated or partially isolated populations and provides a unique opportunity to investigate population structure and molecular variation. D. ananassae and its closely related species serve as a widely used model in population and evolutionary genetics. The ananassae subgroup belongs to the melanogaster species group. This subgroup contains 22 described species distributed mainly throughout Southeast Asia, with some species expanding into northeastern Australia, South Pacific and Indian subcontinent and Africa. Within the ananassae subgroup, three species complexes-ananassae, bipectinata and ercepeae have been recognized based on male genital morphology. D. ananassae and its relatives have many advantages as a model of genetic differentiation and speciation. In this review, distribution, phylogenies, hybridization, sexual isolation among D. ananassae complex have been discussed. The complex of several cryptic island species provides a useful model for evolutionary studies dealing with the mechanisms of speciation.