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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Ecology & Evolution

Apparent stabilizing selection explains micro- and macroevolution of Drosophila wings

  • Anneli Brändén1
  • Stephen P. De Lisle2
  1. 1Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
  2. 2Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden. [email protected]
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Abstract

Evolution over deep time is often slow relative to neutral or directional expectations. A striking example is provided by Drosophila wing shape, which shows substantial genetic variance yet comparatively little macroevolutionary change. Here, using a large-scale fitness assay, we find pervasive stabilizing selection across dimensions of Drosophila melanogaster wing shape that is proportional to standing variation, driven by variance in male fitness and probably apparent selection generated by pleiotropy. Parameterizing a macroevolutionary Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model using our selection estimate recapitulates observed among-species variance under reasonable effective population sizes, suggesting a role for apparent stabilizing selection in constraining wing shape evolution over deep time.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{branden2026apparent,
  title = {{Apparent stabilizing selection explains micro- and macroevolution of Drosophila wings}},
  author = {Anneli Brändén and Stephen P. De Lisle},
  journal = {Nature Ecology \& Evolution},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1038/s41559-026-03121-2},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03121-2},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Apparent stabilizing selection explains micro- and macroevolution of Drosophila wings
AU  - Anneli Brändén
AU  - Stephen P. De Lisle
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/10
JO  - Nature Ecology & Evolution
DO  - 10.1038/s41559-026-03121-2
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03121-2
AB  - Evolution over deep time is often slow relative to neutral or directional expectations. A striking example is provided by Drosophila wing shape, which shows substantial genetic variance yet comparatively little macroevolutionary change. Here, using a large-scale fitness assay, we find pervasive stabilizing selection across dimensions of Drosophila melanogaster wing shape that is proportional to standing variation, driven by variance in male fitness and probably apparent selection generated by pleiotropy. Parameterizing a macroevolutionary Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model using our selection estimate recapitulates observed among-species variance under reasonable effective population sizes, suggesting a role for apparent stabilizing selection in constraining wing shape evolution over deep time.
SN  - 2397-334X
ER  -