Preadult life history variation determines adult transcriptome expression

Preadult determinants of adult fitness and behavior have been documented in a variety of organisms with complex life cycles, but little is known about expression patterns of genes underlying these adult traits. We explored the effects of differences in egg to adult development time on adult transcriptome and cuticular hydrocarbon variation in order to understand the nature of the genetic correlation between preadult development time and premating isolation between populations of Drosophila mojavensis reared in different host cactus environments. Transcriptome variation was analyzed separately in flies reared on each host and revealed that hundreds of genes in adults were differentially expressed (FDR P < 0.05) due to development time differences. For flies reared on pitaya agria cactus, longer preadult development times caused increased expression of genes in adults enriched for ribosome production, protein metabolism, chromatin remodeling, and regulation of alternate splicing and tr...