Evo–Devo: Nasonia Tools Up

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Nature Reviews Genetics | AoP, published online 9 February 2010; doi:10.1038/nrg2759

EvO–DEvO Nasonia tools up

Evolutionary developmental biol- found that the repertoire of genes in how morphological differences ogy (evo–devo) research has been these wasps is fairly typical of insects among species evolve at a genetic boosted in recent years by expansion but, unlike the classical insect model level is central to evo–devo research, in the range of genetically tractable Drosophila melanogaster, Nasonia and Loehlin et al. showed that an model organisms that can be species have a full complement of interspecies QTL for a morpho- manipulated in the laboratory. The DNA methylation genes. They also logical trait — wing size — could be publication of the genome sequence have a large set of venom genes, and efficiently identified and cloned in of three species of the parasitoid because these have a higher degree Nasonia species. The QTL implicates wasp Nasonia — accompanied by a of divergence among Nasonia species the sex-determining gene doublesex clutch of papers that have utilized than non-venom genes, they might in the recent evolution of sex-specific the sequence data — is enabling the be important for adaptation to differ- differences. The genome sequence development of a sophisticated ent hosts, and could also be valuable has also aided characterization of genetic tool kit for this emerging for drug development. the evolution of a newly identified arthropod model. This work opens The appeal of Nasonia species species, Nasonia oneida. new avenues in evo–devo research, as model organisms stems from The potential for fine-scale map- as well having potential benefits for their short generation time, haploid ping and positional cloning of QTLs biological pest control. male genetics and — when cured is likely to enable researchers to make The Nasonia Genome Working of infection with the intracellular substantial advances in understand- Group sequenced and annotated Wolbachia bacteria — cross-species ing the genetic basis of arthropod the genome of a highly inbred line fertility. The genome sequence now developmental evolution and of Nasonia vitripennis by Sanger expands the available resources and host–parasite interactions. Further sequencing. They then used this as tools. For example, Desjardins knowledge of Nasonia biology could a reference to build the genomes of and colleagues introgressed a locus also improve the way in which they two closely related species — Nasonia that confers preference for different are used to control the agricultural giraulti and Nasonia longicornis — types of flies as hosts among Nasonia pests they parasitize. from a combination of Sanger and species and mapped it using a new Mary Muers short-read sequencing data. They genotyping array. Understanding

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS Nasonia Genome Working Group. Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasonia species. Science 327, 343–348 (2010) | Desjardins, C. A., Perfectti, F., Bartos, J. D., Enders, L. S. & Werren, J. H. The genetic basis of interspecies host preference differences in the model parasitoid Nasonia. Heredity 20 Jan 2010 (doi:10.1038/hdy.2009.125) | Loehlin, D. W. et al. Non-coding changes cause sex-specific wing size differences between closely related species of Nasonia. PLoS Genet. 6, e1000821 (2010) FURTHER READING Sommer, R. J. The future of evo–devo: model systems and evolutionary theory. Photo by Michael Clark and provided courtesy of the Werren Laboratory. Nature Rev. Genet. 10, 416–422 (2009)