Forces driving reproductive isolation emergence during the process of sympatric speciation are still of intense debates. Mechanisms of gametic isolation (which are known to form rapidly in several models) take central place in these debates. Nevertheless, the approximative capacity of a few mentioned above models to other taxa could be questioned, generating a demand for the invention of additional model organisms to study sympatric speciation. The group of closely related species of the genus Littorina (subgenus Neritrema) sympatrically inhabiting seashores are promising expectants. In this study, we performed comparative proteomic analysis of penial tissues of four Neritrema species to identify potential effectors contributing to gametic isolation. Among 272 analyzed proteins, 13 mamilliform gland-specific proteins (possibly transferred to the female during copulation) were detected, as well as five proteins specifically expressed in epithelial of the penial basal part. Eight of these proteins were species-specific and may be involved in reproductive barriers maintenance.
Translated title of the contributionБелки пениальных мамиллиформных желез у близких видов рода Littorina (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda): вариабельность и возможная связь с репродуктивной изоляцией.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)200-204
Number of pages5
JournalBiological Communications
Volume65
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2020

    Research areas

  • Littorina, proteomics, gamete recognition protein, mamilliform gland, reproductive isolation, gametic isolation, mollusca, 2D-DIGE, Reproductive isolation, Gametic isolation, Gamete recognition proteins, Mamilliform gland, Proteomics, Mollusca

    Scopus subject areas

  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)

ID: 51580858