scholarly journals STUDIES OF ESTERASE-6 IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. II. THE GENETICS AND FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING VARIANTS STUDIED BY ELECTROPHORETIC AND HEAT STABILITY CRITERIA

Genetics ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce J Cochrane ◽  
Rollin C Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Gene Frequency ◽  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Heat Stability ◽  
Allozyme Variation ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Esterase 6 ◽  
Different Populations

ABSTRACT Measurements of the electrophoretic mobility and thermostability of esterase-6 allozymes have been used to determine the amount of allelic variation at the esterase-6 locus in Drosophila melanogaster. We studied 39.8 homozygous lines obtained from four natural populations. Use of a spectro-photometric assay for esterase-6 activity has allowed precise quantitation of heat-stability variants. Using these methods, eight putative alleles were detected within the two most common electrophoretic classes. Analyses of F1 and F2 progeny show that the behavior of stability variants is consistent with the hypothesis that this variation is due to allelic variation at the Est-6 locus. Analyses of the gene-frequency distributions within and between populations show (1) that observed allele-frequency distributions do not deviate significantly from those expected for neutral variants, and (2) that there is little evidence for an increase in apparent divergence of the different populations at the genotypic o r phenotypic levels when the additional variation detected is considered. These findings suggest that gene-frequency analysis alone is unlikely to resolve the question of the selective significance of allozyme variation.

scholarly journals GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTANT POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Rama S Singh ◽  
Donal A Hickey ◽  
Jean David
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Differentiation ◽  
Gene Frequency ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Allozyme Variation ◽  
Clinal Variation ◽  
Significant Genetic Differentiation ◽  
African Populations ◽  
Latitudinal Clines ◽  
North And South

ABSTRACT We have studied allozyme variation at 26 gene loci in nine populations of Drosophila melanogaster originating on five different continents. The distant populations show significant genetic differentiation. However, only half of the loci studied have contributed to this differentiation; the other half show identical patterns in all populations. The genetic differentiation in North American, European and African populations is correlated with the major climatic differences between north and south. These differences arise mainly from seven loci that show gene-frequency patterns suggestive of latitudinal clines in allele frequencies. The clinal variation is such that subtropical populations are more heterozygous than temperate populations. These results are discussed in relation to the selectionist and neutralist hypotheses of genetic variation in natural populations.

scholarly journals Studies of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster: XI. Modification of esterase 6 activity by unlinked genes

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Tepper ◽  
Rollin C. Richmond ◽  
Anne L. Terry ◽  
Alayne Senior
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Allelic Variation ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
Gene Variation ◽  
Esterase 6 ◽  
Regulatory Loci

SUMMARYThe often remarkable similarity in structural gene products among related species has led to the hypothesis that species differences may reside largely in changes at regulatory gene loci. This hypothesis assumes that groups capable of speciating have allelic variation at regulatory loci in their natural populations. We have undertaken an analysis of the mode of regulation of the esterase 6 (Est 6) locus in Drosophila melanogaster to determine the nature and extent of regulatory gene variation in natural populations. Analyses of esterase 6 (EST 6) activity among strains carrying the same thermostability variants reveal that significant, specific-activity differences are present. Reciprocal crosses between lines having high and low EST 6 activity show that loci other than the Est 6 structural gene influence EST 6 activity. Analyses of male hybrids from crosses between D. melanogaster and simulans indicate that the X chromosome of these flies affects the expression of the Est 6 locus, resulting in unequal levels of enzyme activity from the two alleles. The effect is sex and tissue specific. Female hybrids carrying the X chromosomes of both species exhibit equal expression of the two Est 6 alleles. We have determined whether natural populations are polymorphic for X chromosomes which affect EST 6 activity by extracting single X chromosomes from wild-collected males and placing these chromosomes in identical genetic backgrounds. Stocks which are otherwise genetically identical but carry independently derived X chromosomes show significant differences in the activity of EST 6. These data suggest that regulatory loci may be commonly polymorphic in natural populations.

scholarly journals Studies of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster: XIV. Variation of esterase 6 levels controlled by unlinked genes in natural populations

1984 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Tepper ◽  
Anne L. Terry ◽  
James E. Holmes ◽  
Rollin C. Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Structural Gene ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Genetic Background ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Regulatory Locus ◽  
The Third ◽  
Esterase 6 ◽  
Activity Modifiers

SUMMARYThe esterase 6 (Est-6) locus in Drosophila melanogaster is located on the third chromosome and is the structural gene for a carboxylesterase (E.C.3.1.1.1) and is polymorphic for two major electromorphs (slow and fast). Isogenic lines containing X chromosomes extracted from natural populations and substituted into a common genetic background were used to detect unlinked factors that affect the activity of the Est-6 locus. Twofold activity differences of esterase 6 (EST 6) were found among males from these derived lines, which differ only in their X chromosome. These unlinked activity modifiers identify possible regulatory elements. Immunoelectrophoresis was used to estimate quantitatively the levels of specific cross-reacting material in the derived lines. The results show that the variation in activity is due to differences in the amount of EST 6 present. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that there is at least one locus on the X chromosome that regulates the synthesis of EST 6 and that this regulatory locus may be polymorphic in natural populations.

scholarly journals Lack of underdominance in a naturally occurring pericentric inversion in Drosophila melanogaster and its implications for chromosome evolution.

Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-802
Author(s):  
J A Coyne ◽  
S Aulard ◽  
A Berry
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Genetic Drift ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Pericentric Inversion ◽  
Chromosome Evolution ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Crossing Over ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Naturally Occurring

Abstract In(2LR)PL is a large pericentric inversion polymorphic in populations of Drosophila melanogaster on two Indian Ocean islands. This polymorphism is puzzling: because crossing over in female heterokaryotypes produces inviable zygotes, such inversions are thought to be underdominant and should be quickly eliminated from populations. The observed fixation for such inversions among related species has led to the idea that genetic drift can cause chromosome evolution in opposition to natural selection. We found, however, that In(2LR)PL is not underdominant for fertility, as heterokaryotypic females produce perfectly viable eggs. Genetic analysis shows that the lack of underdominance results from the nearly complete absence of crossing over in the inverted region. This phenomenon is probably caused by mechanical and not genetic factors, because crossing over is not suppressed in In(2LR)PL homokaryotypes. Our observations do not support the idea that the fixation of pericentric inversions among closely related species implies the action of genetic drift overcoming strong natural selection in very small populations. If chromosome arrangements vary in their underdominance, it is those with the least disadvantage as heterozygotes, like In(2LR)PL, that will be polymorphic or fixed in natural populations.

DYNAMICS OF A LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE POLYMORPHISM IN THE WOOD LOUSE PORCELLIO SCABER LATR.: EVIDENCE FOR PARTIAL ASSORTATIVE MATING AND HETEROSIS IN NATURAL POPULATIONS

Genetics ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-609
Author(s):  
Clay Sassaman
Keyword(s):  
Lactate Dehydrogenase ◽  
Gene Frequency ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Porcellio Scaber ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Male Gametes ◽  
Offspring Genotype

ABSTRACT Electrophoretic separation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of Porcellio scaber from 14 natural populations in California, and one each in Oregon, Delaware and Massachusetts, indicates a biallelic polymorphism. Phenotypes are recovered from laboratory matings of virgin females in frequencies agreeing with simple Mendelian inheritance, and the frequency distributions of phenotypes in natural populations are typically in agreement with the appropriate Hardy-Weinberg distributions for these same populations. The same allele predominates in all natural populations examined. Temporal stability within populations suggests that the polymorphism is at, or near, equilibrium. The spatial distribution of allele frequencies, however, is apparently mosaic. Abrupt discontinuities in gene frequency over short distances (50 m to 1 km) suggest that interpopulation migration is insufficient to swamp local differences in gene frequency. Analysis of the transmission dynamics of the polymorphism in natural populations using mother-offspring genotype comparisons suggests that the allelic frequencies of transmitted male gametes are not independent of female genotype. Specifically, the observed mating scheme in natural populations appears to be partially assortative. Comparisons of progeny genotype distributions with yearling (or adult) genotype distributions from the same populations indicate a superior post-partum viability of heterozygous individuals relative to homozygotes. The distortion of progeny genotypic distributions created by assortment is thus apparently counteracted by subsequent heterosis.

Heat stability variants of esterase-6 in Drosophila melanogaster

Nature ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 263 (5573) ◽  
pp. 131-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRUCE J. COCHRANE
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Heat Stability ◽  
Esterase 6

scholarly journals Effects of autosomal inversions on meiotic exchange in distal and proximal regions of the X chromosome in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster

1994 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Sniegowski ◽  
Anne Pringle ◽  
Kimberly A. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Element Abundance ◽  
Recombination Rates ◽  
Interchromosomal Effect ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Transposable Element Abundance

SummaryWe have investigated the interchromosomal effect of the naturally-occurring paracentric inversions In(2L)t and In(3R)P on meiotic recombination in two regions of the X chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster. Previous authors have suggested that the rate of recombination at the tip of the X chromosome may be substantially higher in some natural populations than values measured in the laboratory, due to the interchromosomal effect of heterozygous autosomal inversions. This suggestion was motivated by observations that transposable elements are not as common at the tip of the X chromosome as predicted by recent research relating reduced meiotic exchange to increased element abundance in D. melanogaster. We examined the effects of heterozygous In(2L)t and In(3R)P on recombination at both the tip and base of the X chromosome on a background of isogenic major chromosomes from a natural population. Both inversions substantially increased the rate of recombination at the base; neither one affected recombination at the tip. The results suggest that the presence of inversions in the study population does not elevate rates of crossing over at the tip of the X chromosome. The relevance of these results to ideas relating transposable element abundance to recombination rates is discussed.

scholarly journals Genetic Variation in Rates of Nondisjunction: Association of Two Naturally Occurring Polymorphisms in the Chromokinesin nod With Increased Rates of Nondisjunction in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 152 (4) ◽  
pp. 1605-1614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E Zwick ◽  
Jennifer L Salstrom ◽  
Charles H Langley
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Intermediate Frequency ◽  
Female Meiosis ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
High Level ◽  
Female Specific

Abstract Genetic variation in nondisjunction frequency among X chromosomes from two Drosophila melanogaster natural populations is examined in a sensitized assay. A high level of genetic variation is observed (a range of 0.006-0.241). Two naturally occurring variants at the nod locus, a chromokinesin required for proper achiasmate chromosome segregation, are significantly associated with an increased frequency of nondisjunction. Both of these polymorphisms are found at intermediate frequency in widely distributed natural populations. To account for these observations, we propose a general model incorporating unique opportunities for meiotic drive during female meiosis. The oötid competition model can account for both high mean rates of female-specific nondisjunction in Drosophila and humans as well as the standing genetic variation in this critical fitness character in natural populations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document