A novel hybrid dysgenesis system in Drosophila melanogaster suggests that transposons may contribute to speciation

Drosophila melanogaster hybrid dysgenesis driven by transposon trans produces near 100% female offspring with atrophied ovaries across temperatures from 21 to 29.

• Why it matters: Postzygotic isolation is a key step toward speciation, but known D. melanogaster hybrid dysgenesis systems are often mild or environment-limited and may not block gene flow in both cross directions.
• What they did: The study characterized a new trans-based hybrid dysgenesis system in D. melanogaster, testing female ovarian atrophy across a broad temperature range and screening strain combinations for reciprocal effects.
• The result: trans causes strong, broadly temperature-robust dysgenesis, and some strain combinations show bidirectional hybrid dysgenesis where trans and p{e}le induce atrophied ovaries in opposite cross directions, supporting a role for TEs in speciation.

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