Stepwide Modification of a Modular Enhancer Underlies Adaptation in a Drosophila Population

Stepwise Modification of a Modular Enhancer Underlies Adaptation in a Drosophila Population

Mark Rebeiz,¹ John E. Pool,^2,3 Victoria A. Kassner,¹ Charles F. Aquadro,⁴ Sean B. Carroll^1,*

Summary of paper
In Africa, drosophila dorsal abdominal pigmentation is correlated with altitude.  Ebony is a candidate gene for involvement in this phenotypic gradient, as it codes for an enzyme in a pathway that produces a tannish brown pigment.  A previous study (Pool and Aquadro 2007) produced evidence for a selective sweep at the ebony locus, further strengthening its potential as a candidate gene.  The goal of Rebeiz et al (2009) was to confirm that the ebony locus was responsible for this phenotypic variation and to determine the specific nucleotide variation causing it.