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Genetics and origin of a Drosophila melanogaster population recently introduced to the Seychelles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

J. R. David
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biologie et Génétique Evolutives du CNRS 91190 Gif-sur- Yvette, France
P. Capy
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biologie et Génétique Evolutives du CNRS 91190 Gif-sur- Yvette, France
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During an extensive survey of drosophilid fauna in 1977, D. melanogaster was not collected in the Seychelles. However, a population was found in 1981 in Victoria city, suggesting a recent introduction of this species. With respect to allozyme frequencies or ethanol tolerance, this population is almost identical to European ones and very different from those living under a similar equatorial climate on the African continent. The frequencies of rare biochemical alleles perhaps suggested that this population was founded by a small number of flies, less than ten inseminated females. For various biometrical traits, the situation was not so clear: according to the trait considered, Seychellian flies are either intermediate between European and African populations or closer to the latter. These data suggest that a few flies, recently introduced from a temperate (European?) country, built up a big population which is now on the way to adapting itself to new tropical conditions. Such an involuntary experiment should afford a unique opportunity to distinguish the respective roles of drift and adaptation in the evolution of D. melanogaster geographic races.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

References

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