Evolution of water balance in the genus Drosophila

Fruit flies of the genus Drosophila have independently invaded deserts around the world on numerous occasions. To understand the physiological mechanisms allowing these small organisms to survive and thrive in arid environments, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of water balance in Drosophila species from different habitats. Desert (cactophilic) species were more resistant to desiccation than mesic ones. This resistance could be accomplished in three ways: by increasing the amount of water in the body, by reducing rates of water loss or by tolerating the loss of a greater percentage of body water (dehydration tolerance). Cactophilic Drosophila lost water less rapidly and appeared to be more tolerant of low water content, although males actually contained less water than their mesic congeners. However, when the phylogenetic relationships between the species were taken into account, greater dehydration tolerance was not correlated with increased desiccation resistance. Therefore, only one of the three expected adaptive mechanisms, lower rates of water loss, has actually evolved in desert Drosophila, and the other apparently adaptive difference between arid and mesic species (increased dehydration tolerance) instead reflects phylogenetic history.