Drosophila pseudoobscura facts for kids
Drosophila pseudoobscura is a type of fruit fly. Scientists often study this tiny insect in labs. They use it to learn about the genetics of wild animal groups.
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Discovering the Fruit Fly's Secrets
This fruit fly was first studied by Theodosius Dobzhansky. He was a famous scientist. He and his team collected these flies from western North America and Mexico. They kept the flies in special "population cages" in the lab. They wanted to understand how natural selection works. They also studied genetic drift and other parts of population genetics. These studies help us learn how populations change over time.
How New Species Can Form
In 1989, a scientist named Diane Dodd did an interesting experiment. She gave groups of D. pseudoobscura different foods. Some flies ate starch, and others ate maltose. After only eight generations, the flies started to change.
The flies that ate starch preferred to mate with other starch-eating flies. The maltose-eating flies preferred to mate with other maltose-eating flies. This showed that they were becoming two separate groups. This process is called speciation. It happens when groups become so different they no longer mate with each other. This is an example of reproductive isolation. Other scientists have repeated Dodd's experiment. It also works with different types of fruit flies and foods.
Mapping the Fruit Fly's Genes
In 2005, D. pseudoobscura became very important. It was the second Drosophila species to have its entire set of genes mapped. This is called genome sequencing. The first was Drosophila melanogaster. Mapping a creature's genome helps scientists understand how it grows and works. It also helps them learn about evolution.
Images for kids
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Illustration of a D. pseudoobscura male
