Open AccessPLEIOTROPIC EFFECTS ON FITNESS OF MUTATIONS AFFECTING VIABILITY IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Author(s) -
Michael Simmons,
Christine R. Preston,
William R. Engels
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.792
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1943-2631
pISSN - 0016-6731
DOI - 10.1093/genetics/94.2.467
Subject(s) - biology , genetics , drosophila melanogaster , mutation , heterozygote advantage , population , gene , genotype , demography , sociology
The relative viabilities and fitnesses of wild-type second chromosomes in heterozygous condition were determined. Joint analysis of these permitted an estimation of a parameter that relates the viability effect of a mutation to its effect on fitness as a whole. For newly arisen mutations, the estimate was slightly greater than one, indicating that the reductions in viability caused by these mutations are associated with reductions in other components of fitness. For mutations from an equilibrium population, the estimate of the parameter was near zero, implying that the deleterious viability effects of these mutations are compensated by improvements in other aspects of fitness.