Male manipulation impinges on social-dependent tumor suppression in Drosophila melanogaster females.

Physiological status can influence social behavior, which in turn can affect physiology and health. Previously, we reported that tumor growth in Drosophila virgin females depends on the social context, but did not investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms. Here, we sought to characterize the signal perceived between tumorous flies, ultimately discovering that the tumor suppressive effect varies depending on reproductive status.

Correlated stabilizing selection shapes the topology of gene regulatory networks.

The evolution of gene expression is constrained by the topology of gene regulatory networks, as co-expressed genes are likely to have their expressions affected together by mutations. Conversely, co-expression can also be an advantage when genes are under joint selection. Here, we assessed theoretically whether correlated selection (selection for a combination of traits) was able to affect the pattern of correlated gene expressions and the underlying gene regulatory networks.