It is assumed that a character under stabilizing selection is determined genetically by n linked, mutable loci with additive effects and a range of many possible allelic effects at each locus. A general qualitative feature of such systems is that the genetic variance for the character is independent of the linkage map of the loci, provided linkage is not very tight. A particular detailed model shows that certain aspects of the genetic system are moulded by stabilizing selection while others are selectively neutral. With reference to experimental data on characters of Drosophila flies, maize, and mice, it is concluded that large amounts of genetic variation can be maintained by mutation in polygenic characters even when there is strong stabilizing selection. The properties of the model are compared with those of heterotic models with linked loci.

An expression is derived for determining the probability of survival of a new favourable mutation in a large random-mating population with overlapping generations. For a gene of small effect, in a near-stationary population, an approximate formula similar to the usual one for discrete generations is obtained. The implications of these results for the evolution of life histories are discussed, using the partial derivatives of the chance of survival of a gene, with respect to changes in age-specific fecundities and survival probabilities. The properties of these derivatives are very similar to those of the derivatives of the intrinsic rate of increase, analysed by Hamilton (1966), thus providing a genetical basis for his conclusions concerning the evolution of life histories.

IIIRa is a genetic modifier of Segregation Distortion (SD) in Drosophila melanogaster, which was discovered in the same natural population from Ranna (Sicily) that carried SDRa. It is located at 49·7 ± 0·8 on chromosome III. IIIRa was found to have a dominant effect on segregation distortion which varied with the origin of the SD chromosome tested. Thus it enhanced the level of distortion caused by 14 SD chromosomes from seven natural populations in Southern Italy and Sicily, but decreased the level of distortion caused by SDR−1, a chromosome from a natural population near Rome. Moreover, IIIRa determined or enhanced the distorting effect of SDRa in males heterozygous for SDRa and various SD+ wild chromosomes differently sensitive to SDRa. The frequency of chromosomes having an effect like IIIRa chromosome was very high (around 70%) in samples from two natural populations of Southern Italy tested-those of Ranna and Corato. No effects of IIIRa other than its ability to modify SD have been detected.

A mutant of Tetrahymena with heat-sensitive phagocytosis was obtained using a tantalum-particle enrichment procedure. The mutant phenotype is most likely determined by a somatic (macronuclear) mutation(s). The inability of the mutant to sustain cell division and to phagocytize at 37 °C are most likely determined by the same mutation. The phenotype of the mutant is stably inherited under vegetative propagation at 30 °C. At 37 °C, the mutation affects the development of the oral apparatus, the phagocytotic organelle. This mutant has proven useful for the study of cellular functions related to phagocytosis.

Single-point crosses using five allelic spore colour mutants at the buff locus were carried out at different temperatures. The data suggest (i) that fixed or preferred opening points in the DNA, required for initiation of recombination events, are available more often at higher than at lower temperatures, (ii) opening points at or beyond both proximal and distal ends of the buff locus respond similarly to variations in temperature, and (iii) the correction pattern seems to be independent of temperature at the buff locus in S. brevicollis.

Forty-five temperature-sensitive mutants of Aspergillus nidulans which are defective in nuclear division, septation or distribution of nuclei along the mycelium have been isolated, and most have been subjected to complementation analysis and mapped to chromosome. Thirty-five of the mutants were unable to complete nuclear division at the restrictive temperature. Twenty-six of these mutants exhibited a co-ordinate drop in both spindle and chromosome mitotic indices at 42 °C, indicating that they fail to enter mitosis. These mutants have been assigned to the gene symbol nim. Nine mutants exhibited a co-ordinate rise in spindle and chromosome mitotic indices at 42 °C, indicating that they are arrested in mitosis. These mutants were assigned the gene symbol bim. Five mutants failed to form septa and were given the gene symbol sep; and five mutants had an abnormal nuclear distribution and were given the gene symbol nud. All of the mutations were recessive. Most of the mutants were in different complementation groups. Mutants in the same complementation groups were phenotypically similar, but phenotypically similar mutants were not necessarily or usually in the same complementation group. There was no evidence for genetic clustering of phenotypically similar mutants. The mutants were located on all eight chromosomes.

Manganese and cobalt are capable of inducing ρ− mutations* in non-growing cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but their mutagenic action is much stronger in growing cells. At a given concentration cobalt and manganese can be either strongly mutagenic or non-mutagenic, depending on the cell density.

Most of the ρ− mutants induced with manganese and a considerable proportion of those induced with cobalt are suppressive and/or transmit drug resistance markers, so they must still carry mitochondrial DNA. Cobalt can decrease suppressiveness with low efficiency and eliminate drug resistance markers from established ρ− clones.

Using a series of Hfr and F prime deletion strains, the F transfer inhibition gene finP has been mapped between ori and traJ. Marker rescue experiments with the Hfr deletion strains further showed that traO, the site of action of the transfer inhibitor, is located immediately to the left of, or possibly within, traJ, and that the polar mutation tra-4 lies in traK.

DNA prepared from transformed stocks of Drosophila melanogaster induces second-step transformations resembling the original. The gross yield of transformants induced by transformed DNA is several times higher than that induced by the original allo-DNA, but much of this high frequency is attributable to a few exceptionally large clusters of transformants among flies treated with transformed DNA. When these large clusters are omitted from the data, the frequency of transformants induced by DNA from transformed stocks is the same as that induced by allo-DNA. The data therefore support the conclusion that the original DNA-induced alterations resulted from the transfer of genetic material capable of indefinite replication.

This paper describes selective differences imposed by environmental ethanol on six genotypes at the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) locus in Drosophila melanogaster. Probit analyses were used to relate differences between the percentage survival of adults of different Adh genotypes to ethanol concentration. Regression analyses were used to relate differences between the pre-adult developmental times of different Adh genotypes to ethanol concentration. The directions of differences between some of the genotypes were found to differ in these two components of fitness. The differences in developmental time are linearly related to the differences in the in vitro alcohol dehydrogenase activity expressed by these genotypes. Percentage survival differences amongst adults are not linearly related to these differences in enzymic activity. The development of AdhF AdhF pre-adults is retarded the least on ethanol impregnated media but AdhFAdhS adults are most likely to survive on such media.

When the mutant veinlet was removed from a Drosophila melanogaster line selected for shortened vein length it was found that the selected polygenic background produced vein gaps in the absence of the major mutant. This example of genetic assimilation was unusual, however, in that the phenotype of the assimilated line was not exactly the same as the phenotype of the original selection line. It differed in two respects: only one of the longitudinal veins was affected in the assimilation line whereas all veins are shortened in the selected ve line, and vein gaps were sub-terminal in the assimilated line whereas they are terminal in veinlet. Modifiers of L 4 vein length were found to be located on both chromosomes II and III, though the chromosome II factor had a larger effect and was required for gap formation. The chromosome II gene was mapped to the same position as a similar L 4 vein length polygene (PL(2)L4a) found in another veinlet selection line and reported elsewhere. The pattern of expression of the ve mutant and the assimilated line genotype were compared using profiles of vein frequency at given points. The vein pattern profiles are discussed in relation to an hypothesis to explain the observed selection response and the effectiveness which these polygene combinations showed in modifying the much more complex veinlet phenotype.

A mathematical method for evaluating the probability that a locus is monomorphic for the same allele in related species is developed under the neutral mutation hypothesis. A formula for the proportion of identically monomorphic loci in related species is also worked out. The results of the application of this method to Drosophila data do not support Prakash & Lewontin's (1968) contention that the strong association between gene arrangements (inversion chromosomes) and alleles at protein loci is evidence of coadaptation of genes in the inverted segment of chromosomes. Similarly, unlike Haigh & Maynard Smith's (1972) contention, the monomorphism of the haemoglobin α chain locus in man can be accommodated with the neutral mutation hypothesis without invoking the bottleneck effect.

Purine auxotrophs of Micrococcus luteus were induced by N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. They were biochemically characterized by growth stimulation with CO2-enriched air and purine intermediates and by the Bratton-Marshall test that is used to detect accumulated diazotizable amines. The mutants were divided into four classes: pur (EC), purH, purJ, and Pur−. The pur(EC) class was further subdivided into purE and purC by results of crossing all the pur(EC) mutants with a known purE reference strain (ATCC 27141). Mutants which were not linked to the reference purE marker were considered to be purC. Genetic mapping was accomplished by using two-point reciprocal transformation crosses. The result of this study indicates that purJ mutants may be loosely linked to purE and purC, and purH mutants are not linked to purE, purC or purJ.

During meiosis the two parts of a tandem duplication are able to pair in a double loop instead of pairing with the corresponding region of the homologous chromosome. The frequency of intrachromosomal exchange within this double loop was measured in heterozygous females of tandem duplication Dp(1; 1)Gr by the phenotypes of the exceptional F1 males. The intrachromosomal exchange frequency is increased significantly by both the ‘interchromosomal effect’ of heterozygous inversions in the autosomes and by a double inversion in the homologous X chromosome. Distribution of the exchange events depends on the pairing situation and its frequency within the double loop. The analysis of clusters of intrachromosomal recombinants observed favours the assumption that this exchange type is exclusively a meiotic event.

There is subnormal dispersion in the distributions of the combinations of the sexes in some samples of litters of pigs, rabbits and mice. For instance, consider litters of exactly size 8. As contrasted with binomial expectation, there are too many with exactly 4 males and 4 females, and too few unisexual litters. It is argued that this supports the hypothesis (independently proposed by the author and by Guerrero) that P, the probability that a zygote will be male, varies with the time at which it is formed within the cycle. It is noted that data of Kaufman seem to support the hypothesis.

Recombination in a short genetic interval spanning the proximal region of chromosome 3 was studied in the regions st-in-ri-eg2-Ki-pp. Crossover frequencies in this region varied considerably in different genetic backgrounds; however, in all genotypes, the following observations were made: (1) an excess of multiple recombinant chromosomes indicative of high negative interference, was detected; (2) among the multiple recombi-nants, a positive correlation of simultaneous exchange in the most proximal and shortest adjacent genetic intervals was noted; (3) several classes of reciprocal products were not equally recovered. Three possible explanations for these results are: pre-meiotic exchange, chromatid interference and gene conversion.

Strains of Aspergillus nidulans with a duplicate segment are mitotically unstable; they produce phenotypically improved variants following deletions in either duplicate segment, and morphologically deteriorated types. The number of variants produced is characteristic of each duplication strain under the same conditions. After ultraviolet treatment two variants, one more stable and the other less stable than the original strain, were selected. Genetic analysis showed that the increased instability in the less stable variant was due to a translocation involving linkage groups V and VIII. The increased stability of the more stable variant was due to a recessive factor (stf–1) located in linkage group VIII. In the homozygous condition this factor also reduces the number of sectors in a diploid strain. The possible genetic mechanisms explaining the instability alterations are discussed.

A high frequency of chromosomal non-disjunction occurs spontaneously in mice heterozygous for some Robertsonian translocations. If animals heterozygous for the translocation and homozygous for different alleles of a marker gene are mated together a few young homozygous for the marker arise through non-disjunction, and their frequency can be used as a measure. This method has been used with the Robertsonian translocation Rb(9.19)163H and the marker ruby ru (chr. 19); Rb(4.6)-2Bnr with brown (b) and misty (m) (chr. 4); and Rb(9.14)6Bnr with hairless (hr) and piebald (s) (chr. 14) respectively. The frequencies of marked young were: Rb163 0/5260 ruru; Rb2 21/1997 mm bb; and Rb6 19/1702 hrhr ss, and the corresponding calculated non-disjunction frequencies in each arm of the translocation were Rb163, <5 %; Rb2, 15%; Rb6, 15%. These figures show reasonably good agreement with values obtained by other methods. A search for genetic or environmental factors affecting the frequency of marked young in Rb2 and Rb6 revealed that in Rb2 the frequency increased with maternal age, whereas in Rb6 the maternal age of the marked young was non-significantly below that of the total progeny. The reasons for this discrepancy are not clear.

The alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), acid phosphatase (ACPH), endopeptidase (EP) and aminopeptidase (AMP) zymogram phenotypes of Chinese Spring wheat, Imperial rye, the Chinese Spring-Imperial triticale and the series of seven disomic Imperial chromosome additions to Chinese Spring were determined. It was found that the zymogram phenotypes produced for one or more of the enzymes by each of the Imperial chromosomes 3, 6, C and D differ sufficiently from that of Chinese Spring so as to provide evidence for the presence or absence of each of these chromosomes in addition lines and triticales. The structural genes Got-R2 and Got-R3 were located in Imperial chromosomes 6 and 3 respectively and other genes involved in the production of GOT in chromosomes C and D. By analysis of GOT alone, evidence for the presence or absence of Imperial chromosomes 3, 6, C and D in addition lines and triticales can be obtained. Adh-R1 was located in chromosome C and a gene(s) involved in the production of an ACPH was located in chromosome D.

The linkages obtained for Got-R2, Got-R3 and Adh-R1 demonstrate homoeology between the Imperial chromosomes 3, 6 and C and the Chinese Spring chromosomes of groups 3, 6 and 4 respectively. The discovery that Adh-R1 is located in Imperial chromosome C also suggests that the 4R/7R and 7R/4R homoeologous groupings proposed elsewhere for the chromosomes of the rye cultivars Imperial, Dakold, and King II should be reassessed, since they are inconsistent with the known linkages of Adh-R1 in the three cultivars. The finding in King II of two forms of ADH and of two ADH genes has been reported. The results of our study of Imperial, King II, and Dakold indicate that rye possesses but one ADH and only one ADH structural gene.

Partially dominant mutations to carboxin resistance occur in three, freely recombining, nuclear genes in Aspergillus nidulans. Mutations at all three loci reduce carboxin inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.99.1), succinate-cytochrome c reductase (EC 1.3.99.1) and succinate oxidase (EC 1.3.99.1) in mitochondrial preparations. It is therefore probable that the ability of carboxin to prevent growth of A. nidulans is a direct consequence of its ability to prevent succinate oxidation.