The Genetic Basis of Adaptive Pigmentation Variation in Drosophila Melanogaster

Overview

Journal Mol Ecol

Specialties Environmental Health
Molecular Biology

Date 2007 Jul 7

PMID 17614900

Citations 64

Authors

John E Pool

Charles F Aquadro

Affiliations

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Abstract

In a broad survey of Drosophila melanogaster population samples, levels of abdominal pigmentation were found to be highly variable and geographically differentiated. A strong positive correlation was found between dark pigmentation and high altitude, suggesting adaptation to specific environments. DNA sequence polymorphism at the candidate gene ebony revealed a clear association with the pigmentation of homozygous third chromosome lines. The darkest lines sequenced had nearly identical haplotypes spanning 14.5 kb upstream of the protein-coding exons of ebony. Thus, natural selection may have elevated the frequency of an allele that confers dark abdominal pigmentation by influencing the regulation of ebony.

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