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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1988 Jan;85(1):293–297. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.1.293

Selection affecting enzyme polymorphisms in enclosed Drosophila populations maintained in a natural environment.

J G Oakeshott 1, S R Wilson 1, W R Knibb 1
PMCID: PMC279531  PMID: 3124101

Abstract

Allele frequencies for the Adh, Gpdh, and Est6 enzyme polymorphisms of Drosophila melanogaster show large-scale latitudinal clines, whereas those for Pgm do not vary systematically with latitude. To elucidate possible mechanisms of selection underlying these distributions, large collections of the species were made from five Australasian localities spanning 24 degrees of latitude. Two replicate experimental populations were established from each collection, and each replicate was then released into an enclosure surrounding a natural habitat at a central-latitude locality. Genotype frequencies at the four loci were monitored for 15 months, covering 12 discrete generations, and selection coefficients on each polymorphism were then estimated by maximum likelihood procedures. For Est6 no coefficients were found to be significantly different from zero. For Pgm some nonzero coefficients were estimated, but these were heterogeneous across experimental populations of different geographic origins. For both Adh and Gpdh, nonzero selection coefficients were estimated that were homogeneous across populations and indicated heterozygote advantage. Predicted Adh and Gpdh equilibrium allele frequencies were consistent with those found in adjacent free-living populations. It is concluded that, at such intermediate latitudes at least, selection operates on the Adh and Gpdh polymorphisms to the advantage of heterozygotes.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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