Genetic Analysis of the Polymorphism of Color Pattern in Drosophila auraria

Drosophila auraria 의 반문다형현상의 유전학적분석

D.auraria is a species belonging to the D.melanogaster group, and this species was divided into 3 races(A, B and C race ) by morphoogical difference of the genitals . Korean populations of D.auraria A race are polymorphic with respect to the pigmentation of the abdominal tergites. The female shows two forms of color pattern, dark and light, on the sixth to the ninth tergites, and the male has no distinction shown by the female. Crossing experiments in the laboratory have shown that the difference between these color forms is due to a single pair of allelic genes located on an autosome. In natural populations, the light forms of females are always commoner than the dark one. The number of the light form increases relatively in southern localities and decreases relatively in northern localities. Furthermore, the number of the light form increases relatively in summer and decreases relatively in fall and spring. By genetic analyses of these wild flies, the relation, d/d>d/D>D/D has been disclosed as regards the relative frequencies of the genotypes in natural populations. Three experimental populations have been set up in the laboratory. Homozygous dark forms and homozygous light forms were mixed together and cultured in population cage at the temperature of 25 $^{\circ}C$. Approximately one year later, the frequencies of the light and the dark forms reached an equilibrium , the light one being usually more frequent than the dark one. This indicates that the heterozygous dark form possesses the highest adaptive value, the homozygous light being intermediate and the homozygous dark lowest. In number of adults hached, the homozygous light form was superior to the heterozygous dark form and the homozygous dark form, but the differences are scarcely significant.