Genetics, Vol. 177, 1959-1962, November 2007, Copyright © 2007
doi:10.1534/genetics.107.079459

Pervasive and Largely Lineage-Specific Adaptive Protein Evolution in the Dosage Compensation Complex of Drosophila melanogaster

Mia T. Levine1, Alisha K. Holloway, Umbreen Arshad and David J. Begun

Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California 95616

1 Corresponding author: Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616.
E-mail: mialevine{at}ucdavis.edu

Dosage compensation refers to the equalization of X-linked gene transcription among heterogametic and homogametic sexes. In Drosophila, the dosage compensation complex (DCC) mediates the twofold hypertranscription of the single male X chromosome. Loss-of-function mutations at any DCC protein-coding gene are male lethal. Here we report a population genetic analysis suggesting that four of the five core DCC proteins—MSL1, MSL2, MSL3, and MOF—are evolving under positive selection in D. melanogaster. Within these four proteins, several domains that range in function from X chromosome localization to protein–protein interactions have elevated, D. melanogaster-specific, amino acid divergence.




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