Data from: The genetics of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in the fruit fly Drosophila simulans

Female mate choice is one mechanism of sexual selection and, provided
there is adequate genetic variation in the male traits that are the target
of this selection, they will evolve via female choice. Cuticular
hydrocarbons (CHCs) are important in Drosophila mate choice, but
relatively little is known about the underlying genetic architecture of
CHC profiles in Drosophila simulans. Here we used gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry to investigate patterns of genetic variation in the CHC
profiles of male and female D. simulans using iso-female lines. We found
substantial genetic variation for CHC profiles and individual CHC
components, and individual CHCs were frequently strongly genetically
correlated, with a tendency for negative covariance between long and short
chain CHCs in males. Intersexual genetic covariances were often weak and
frequently differed in sign. These findings are novel and significant,
highlighting the previously unexplored genetic architecture of CHCs in D.
simulans and suggest that this architecture may facilitate sex-specific
CHC evolution.