266 - Effects of Meiotic Drive on Developing Eyestalks in Stalk-Eyed Flies

Teleopsis dalmanni, also known as the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, exhibits sexually dimorphic eyestalks, which means there is a difference between male and female eyestalk length. Additionally, there are differences in eyestalk length within male populations. One possible reason for these differences is that some stalk-eyed flies exhibit meiotic drive. Meiotic drive is a selfish allele on the X chromosome that violates Mendel’s Law of Segregation by increasing its own transmission. Males with meiotic drive have shorter eyestalks, produce more female offspring, and have lower fitness because females preferentially mate with males that have longer eyestalks. We are working to determine what genes are differentially expressed due to the presence of meiotic drive in developing eye discs that are causing differences between standard and drive male eyestalk length. We are also attempting to determine if meiotic drive is affecting eyestalk development in the same way for males and females, and whether the same genes are impacted. PCR and gel electrophoresis are being performed using primers that indicate sex and drive status. These samples are then grouped into pools and sent for RNA sequencing. Female RNA samples are being analyzed using the differential gene expression software, Kallisto and DESeq2. Previous research indicates an upregulation of gene expression in standard males and a downregulation in gene expression in males with drive. Based on the data from male flies, it’s predicted that there will also be a downregulation in gene expression in eye discs in females with drive compared to standard females.