Investigating Correlations between melanism and parasite resistance in species of Mycophagus Drosophila
One of my previous projects investigated the potential relationship between levels of abdominal melanism in mushroom-feeding Drosophila and resistance to the parasitic nematode Howardula aoronymphium. Collections in the field and pigmentation phenotypic assays reveled a negative correlation between levels of melanin or pigmentation and presence of nematode infection. This finding suggests a potential role of genes or products of the melanin biosynthesis pathway in immune functioning within these species.
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The video captures mating behavior of mycophagus Drosophila on a large Laetiporus mushroom |
**The photograph in the title bar depicts two species of mycophagus (mushroom-feeding) Drosophila that are mating on a species of Laetiporus mushroom (Credit: Shudan Yeh)**