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

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.

Genetics ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce J Cochrane ◽  
Rollin C Richmond

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.


Genetics ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-256
Author(s):  
Rama S Singh ◽  
Donal A Hickey ◽  
Jean David

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.


Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 268 (5618) ◽  
pp. 374-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAHAM BELL

1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
DG Worthington ◽  
DJ Ferrell ◽  
SE NcNeill ◽  
JD Bell

Populations of four species of juvenile fish- Rhabdosargus sarba, Acanthopagrus australis, Achoerodus viridis and Girella tricuspidata-were sampled from a seagrass bed in Botany Bay, New South Wales. Fish were collected eight times between 22 March 1990 and 22 February 1991, using a small seine-net. Growth rates were calculated from the progression of cohorts in length-frequency distributions. Cohorts of R. sarba, A. australis and A. viridis grew most slowly during winter (0.02, 0.04 and 0.21 mm day-1, respectively); growth then increased, peaking just prior to the loss of the cohort from the habitat (0.3 1, 0.24 and 0.39 mm day-1). Populations of R. sarba, A. australis and A. viridis were comprised of one or two cohorts that remained in the habitat for at least 3-4 months. Conversely, up to seven cohorts of G. tricuspidata were found between October and February, and most cohorts did not remain in the habitat for more than 2 months. As a result, there were only two confident estimates of growth for G. tricuspidata: 0.23 mm day-1 between October and November, and 0.34 mm day-1 between January and February. Individuals of each species were also kept in a flow-through 4000-L tank of sea water. Growth of cohorts of fish kept in the tank was very similar to that found in natural populations during the same time period. The rates of recruitment and loss of cohorts from seagrass can be rapid and these factors must be considered in designing a sampling programme to assess growth by analysis of length-frequency distributions.


Evolution ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 472-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay Sassaman ◽  
Ronald M. Yoshiyama ◽  
Joan D. S. Darling

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 1824-1832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Hanes ◽  
Jan J. H. Ciborowski

Natural populations of the burrowing mayfly belonging to the genus Hexagenia are characterized by unusually broad size-frequency distributions. Environmental features are often invoked to explain among-populations growth differences. We used a 4 × 4 factorial design to investigate differences in mean larval size and mortality of Hexagenia reared at different densities and food levels over four time intervals (30, 60, 90, and 120 d) in the laboratory. Larvae were hatched from eggs collected from imagoes at the Detroit River near Windsor, Ontario. Although neither density nor food limitation influenced larval growth at either 30 or 60 d growth, the number of days required for eggs to hatch did significantly influence larval growth at this time. At 30 d growth, larvae that hatched after 6 d incubation were significantly smaller than larvae that required an additional day to hatch (7 d). At both 30 and 60 d, larvae that hatched after 6 d incubation had lower mortality than larvae that hatched after 7 d. At 90 and 120 d growth, density and food significantly influenced larval size and mortality. Larvae reared at low density and with a high food level attained the largest size. Mortality increased under stressed conditions (high density and (or) low food level). Since endogenous features (day of hatch) can be important early in larval development (at 30 or 60 d), such features may contribute to the outcome of competitive events that occur later in development (at 90 or 120 d), when exogenous factors (density and food) become significant.


1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 2424-2439 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Hawthorn ◽  
P. B. Cavers

The frequency distributions of log plant weight in 1st-year plants of Plantago major L. and P. rugelii Decne. were studied in greenhouse experiments, including an investigation of associated differences in allocation patterns to plant parts between individuals in various weight classes. The frequency distributions of log plant weight of both plantains were strongly negatively skewed (many large plants and few small ones) at the lowest sowing density, where little or no mortality occurred during the course of the study. At two higher sowing densities significant mortality was noted and the frequency distributions tended to "log normality" or to a significant platykurtosis. The presence of bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) reduced the weight of individual plantains and resulted in frequency distributions that were essentially "log normal." Growing the two plantains together did not alter the shapes of the frequency distributions achieved in monocultures with and without grass. A possible pattern of changes in the frequency distribution of log plant weight with the passage of time is briefly discussed. Significant differences were observed in the allocation patterns of individuals of P. major within a population to roots, caudices, leaves, supporting reproductive structures, and seeds. The allocation patterns were not normally distributed according to plant weight; thus the use of average values of allocation pattern for the population as a whole should be viewed with caution. The proportional allocation to seeds (reproductive effort) by individuals of P. major from increasingly larger weight classes generally increased at an exponential rate, and more rapidly than simultaneous decreases in root and caudex allocation. The greatest reproductive effort and the greatest number of seeds per plant of P. major were associated with the strongest negative skewness of frequency distribution of log plant weight. First-year plants of P. rugelii exhibited a different response. Very few flowered during the study. However, in a variety of treatments the allocation to root and caudex by individuals which differed in biomass by as much as two orders of magnitude was remarkably constant at about 23%. In contrast, the allocation to belowground structures was much more variable among individuals of P. major, ranging from 50% or more by the smallest individuals to less than 5% by the largest plants. This life-history trait could partly account for the greater survival over winter and longevity observed in natural populations of P. rugelii compared with those of P. major.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson Champer ◽  
Riona Reeves ◽  
Suh Yeon Oh ◽  
Chen Liu ◽  
Jingxian Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTA functioning gene drive system could fundamentally change our strategies for the control of vector-borne diseases by facilitating rapid dissemination of transgenes that prevent pathogen transmission or reduce vector capacity. CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive promises such a mechanism, which works by converting cells that are heterozygous for the drive construct into homozygotes, thereby enabling super-Mendelian inheritance. Though CRISPR gene drive activity has already been demonstrated, a key obstacle for current systems is their propensity to generate resistance alleles. In this study, we developed two CRISPR gene drive constructs based on thenanosandvasapromoters that allowed us to illuminate the different mechanisms by which resistance alleles are formed in the model organismDrosophila melanogaster.We observed resistance allele formation at high rates both prior to fertilization in the germline and post-fertilization in the embryo due to maternally deposited Cas9. Assessment of drive activity in genetically diverse backgrounds further revealed substantial differences in conversion efficiency and resistance rates. Our results demonstrate that the evolution of resistance will likely impose a severe limitation to the effectiveness of current CRISPR gene drive approaches, especially when applied to diverse natural populations.


Genetics ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-785
Author(s):  
Alan Robertson

ABSTRACT The analysis of differences between loci in the variance of gene frequency over populations within a species has been suggested as a method of detecting natural selection. It is shown that, in the absence of selection, the expected variation over loci depends strongly on the pattern of relationships between populations. The effect of structure within a species is always to increase the variation and therefore to reduce the power of the method.


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