Transcriptome Profiling of Drosophila Interspecific Hybrids: Insights into Mechanisms of Regulatory Divergence and Hybrid Dysfunction

Studies of Drosophila interspecific hybrids have provided unique and important insights into research areas as diverse as those addressing the genetic basis of speciation or the genetic basis of gene expression divergence. Here, we thoroughly review the literature on gene-specific and genome-wide surveys of gene expression in Drosophila interspecific hybrids. We discuss how expression divergence between species leads to transcription network disruption in hybrids in the context of a variety of organismal traits including regulation of gene expression, ontogeny, sex differences, interspecific genomic mismatches, and phenotypic hybrid dysfunction. We argue that ongoing technical developments in transcriptome characterization coupled with classical genetic approaches are poised to improve our understanding of the process of species formation and differentiation in model and nonmodel Drosophila species. This edition first published 2013