Open AccessThe history of a genetic system.
Author(s) -
Aleksandar Popadić,
Wyatt W. Anderson
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.91.15.6819
Subject(s) - drosophila pseudoobscura , biology , genetics , evolutionary biology , population , gene , population genetics , genealogy , demography , history , sociology
Although the chromosomal polymorphism for inversions in Drosophila pseudoobscura is one of the best studied systems in population genetics, the identity of the ancestral gene arrangement has remained unresolved for more than 50 years. There are more than 40 gene arrangements, and 4 of them (Standard, Hypothetical, Santa Cruz, and Tree Line) have been considered as candidates for the ancestral type. We propose a framework of competing hypotheses to distinguish among the alternatives. Two conclusions come from contrasting each hypothesis with the results from DNA sequencing and restriction mapping. First, not only Standard but also Hypothetical can be excluded as the ancestral gene arrangement. Second, although either Tree Line or Santa Cruz could be the ancestral type, the available data provide greater support for Santa Cruz.