Status of Research on Drosophila Ananassae at Global Level

Drosophila, a dipteran insect, has been found to be the best biological model for different kinds of studies. D melanogaster was first described by Meigen in 1830 , is most extensively studied species of the genus Drosophila and a number of investigations employing this species have been documented in areas such as genetics, behaviour, evolution, development, molecular biology, ecology, population biology, etc. Besides D. melanogaster, a number of other species of the genus Drosophila have also been used for different kinds of investigations. Among these, D. ananassae, a cosmopolitan and domestic species endowed with several unusual genetic features, is noteworthy. Described for the first time from Indonesia (Doleschall 1858), this species is commonly distributed in India. Extensive research work on D. ananassae has been done by numerous researchers pertaining to cytology, genetics, mutagenesis, gene mapping, crossing-over in both sexes, population and evolutionary genetics,behaviour genetics, ecological genetics, sexual isolation, fluctuating asymmetry, trade-offs etc. Genome of D. ananassae has also been sequenced. The status of research on D. ananassae at global level is briefly described in this review. Bibliography on this species from different countries worldwide reveals that maximum contribution is from India.