Correlations among size-related traits are affected by chromosome inversions in an adaptive polymorphism in Drosophila buzzatil

NORRY, F.M., J.C. VILARDI, E. HASSON

HEREDITY

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP

Lugar: Londres; Año: 1997 vol. 79 p. 585 - 590

0018-067X

Genetic variation in correlations among size-related traits of head, thorax and wings wasexamined in Drosophila buzzatii, by comparing the correlation pattern of the phenotypiccorrelation matrix (CP-R) between inversion karyotypes of the second chromosome. CP-Rdiffered between some karyotypes in a natural population. CP-R in homokaryotypic classes ofwild-reared flies, but not in heterokaryotypes, differed from the whole population representedby laboratory-reared flies. Similarity in CP-R was highly significant for a same homokaryotypein two populations. In one of them, the chromosome is polymorphic for four inversions. In theother population, one of the inversions is almost fixed. CP-R was significantly similar betweenthese populations, illustrating that similarity of CP-R may even occur between populationswhich have greatly diverged in frequencies of some genotypes affecting correlation patterns. Itis suggested that chromosomal inversions are factors affecting genetic correlations among traitsknown to be phenotypically correlated with fitness components.