Design and construction of a new Drosophila species, D.synthetica, by synthetic regulatory evolution

Eduardo Moreno

doi:10.1038/npre.2011.6511.1

Abstract

AbstractHere, I merge the principles of synthetic biology^1,2^ and regulatory evolution^3-11^ to create a new species^12-15^ with a minimal set of known elements. Using preexisting transgenes and recessive mutations of Drosophila melanogaster, a transgenic population arises with small eyes and a different venation pattern that fulfills the criteria of a new species according to Mayr&apos;s &quot;Biological Species Concept&quot;^7,10^. The genetic circuit entails the loss of a non-essential transcription factor and the introduction of cryptic enhancers. Subsequent activation of those enhancers causes hybrid lethality. The transition from &quot;transgenic organisms&quot; towards &quot;synthetic species&quot;, such as Drosophila synthetica, constitutes a safety mechanism to avoid hybridization with wild type populations and preserve natural biodiversity^16-18^. Drosophila synthetica is the first transgenic organism that cannot hybridize with the original wild type population but remains fertile when crossed with other transgenic animals.

Highlights

I merge the principles of synthetic biology[1,2] and regulatory evolution[3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11] to create a new species[12,13,14,15] with a minimal set of known elements
Using preexisting transgenes and recessive mutations of Drosophila melanogaster, a transgenic population arises with small eyes and a different venation pattern that fulfills the criteria of a new species according to Mayr's “Biological Species Concept”[7,10]
Drosophila synthetica is the first transgenic organism that cannot hybridize with the original wild type population but remains fertile when crossed with other transgenic animals

Summary

Introduction

Highlights: - A new species is created by design in the genus Drosophila. - The population, with small eyes and different venation, conforms to the most stringent definitions of species. - “Synthetic species” can have practical applications. - “Synthetic regulatory evolution” can be a general mechanism to create “synthetic species”. In order to further comprehend the origin of new species, and to explore possible applications in modern biotechnology, I engineered reproductive isolation between populations of Drosophila melanogaster by generating a synthetic species boundary. The generation of a synthetic species may help to define the minimal set of regulatory elements required for reproduction barriers but may partly demystify the process of evolution and speciation by serving as a tool to demonstrate the principles of evolutionary biology[6,7,11].

Results

Conclusion