Speciation via hybrid dysgenesis: negative evidence from the Drosophila affinis subgroup

Abstract

With the realization that some transposable elements cause hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, have come proposals that speciation may be one result of their action. One characteristic of hybrid dysgenesis is that the progeny of dysgenic individuals exhibit an elevated mutation rate. Dysgenic speciation models were tested by studying hybrids of four interfertile species and semispecies of the Drosophila affinis subgroup. A study of the progeny of all possible mating pairs found no evidence for an increased visible mutation rate.