POLYMORPHISM AT THE REF(2)P LOCUS IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTS CONCERNING THE SELECTION MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN ITS MAINTENANCE

1 Laboratoire de Génétique, Université de Clermont Ferrand II, B.P. 45, 63170 Aubière, France

It has been shown previously that a polymorphism for two alleles of the ref(2)P locus is a regular feature of French natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster and that this is maintained in laboratory populations raised in cages. In this paper, an experimental population and egg-collection experiments are reported. Differential survival of the three genotypes would be the main factor leading to the equilibrium frequencies, working only in drastic conditions of larval competition.

Submitted on April 11, 1980
Revised on December 8, 1980