Phylogeny of the Genus Drosophila

Abstract

Understanding phylogenetic relationships among taxa is key to designing and implementing comparative analyses. The genus Drosophila, which contains over 1600 species, is one of the most important model systems in the biological sciences. For over a century, one species in this group, Drosophila melanogaster, has been key to studies of animal development and genetics, genome organization and evolution, and human disease. As whole-genome sequencing becomes more cost-effective, there is increasing interest in other members of this morphologically, ecologically, and behaviorally diverse genus. Phylogenetic relationships within Drosophila are complicated, and the goal of this paper is to provide a review of the recent taxonomic changes and phylogenetic relationships in this genus to aid in further comparative studies.

Keywords: Drosophila; FlyBook; Hawaiian Drosophila; Scaptomyza; evolutionary history; immigrans–tripunctata radiation; nomenclature; phylogenetics; taxonomy; virilis–repleta radiation.