Poster 33
Presenter: Erica Larson
Wednesday, 3:00 – 5:00pm
Erica L. Larson, Dan Vanderpool, Sara Phillips, Collin Callahan, and Jeffrey M. Good University of Montana
House mice provide a powerful system for dissecting the genetic basis of phenotypes that contribute to reproductive isolation during the early stages of speciation. There are often multiple intrinsic barriers that isolate closely related species, and during the early stages of speciation these barriers may vary both within and among populations. Understanding the nature of this variation provides insight into speciation and the evolutionary forces driving divergence. One of the best examples of polymorphic reproductive isolation is the genetic variation for hybrid male sterility observed in natural populations of house mice. We are combining genome-wide surveys of gene expression in testis with quantitative genetic crosses to dissect the basis of polymorphic hybrid male sterility between two subspecies of house mice, Mus musculus musculus and M. musculus domesticus. Our data suggest that multiple hybrid incompatibilities remain polymorphic within these subspecies, including one or more sterility factors that are independent of previously described genes underlying sterility in mice.