Data from: The influence of abdominal pigmentation in desiccation and UV-resistance in two species of Drosophila

Drosophila yakuba and D. santomea are sister species that differ in their levels of abdominal pigmentation; D. yakuba shows heavily pigmented posterior abdominal segments in both sexes, whereas D. santomea lacks dark pigment anywhere on its body. Using naturally collected lines, we demonstrate the existence of altitudinal variation in abdominal pigmentation in D. yakuba but not in D. santomea. We use the variation in pigmentation within D. yakuba and two body-color mutants in D. yakuba to elucidate selective advantage of differences in pigmentation. Our results indicate that although differences in abdominal pigmentation have no effect on desiccation resistance, lighter pigmentation confers ultraviolet radiation resistance in this pair of species.雅库巴果蝇（Drosophila yakuba）与圣多美果蝇（Drosophila santomea）是一对系统发育上的姐妹种，二者的腹部色素沉着水平存在显著差异：雅库巴果蝇的雌雄个体腹部后段均呈现高度色素沉着，而圣多美果蝇的躯体各处均无深色色素沉积。本研究通过自然采集的果蝇品系，证实雅库巴果蝇的腹部色素沉着存在海拔梯度变异，而圣多美果蝇并无此种变异。我们借助雅库巴果蝇体内的色素沉着变异，以及该物种的两种体色突变体，阐明了色素沉着差异所具备的选择优势。研究结果表明，尽管腹部色素沉着差异对果蝇的抗干燥能力并无影响，但较浅的色素沉着可赋予这两个物种的个体紫外辐射抗性。