Effects of winter on genetic structure of a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster.docVIP

Effects of winter on genetic structure of a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster Biologie des Populations, Université Lyon 1, F 69622 Villeurbanne A natural population of Drosophila melanogaster from a cellar was followed throughout the year and its genetic structure analysed by a sib-mating approach (based on of viability ratio in sib-mating offspring) and enzymatic polymorphism. Flies found early in spring, that had resisted cold temperature and food shortage during winter, were of deleterious factors ; no inbreeding depression was observed in the viability of their immediate descendants. In contrast, population established during winter in a bucket of ripe fruit placed in the cellar, showed a high frequency of lethals. In both cases, increasing effective size that followed the return of a favorable environment was a with an inbreeding depression in further generations. The collected flies were highly heterozygous at enzyme loci, although the pattern was perturbed by drift and sampling error. The genetic structure of the populations may thus depend not only on effective popu- lation size but also on selection favoring heterozygotes either free of or bearing lethals (according to the conditions encountered). The observation of an annual cycle of change in enzymatic and deleterious allele frequencies, and degree of heterozygosity, depends then on when and how flies are Key words : Natural population, genetical structure, inbreeding, natural selection, D. melanogaster. Effets de l’hiver sur la structure génétique d’une population naturelle de Drosophila melanogaster Une population naturelle de Drosophila melanogaster d’une cave fut suivie tout au long d’une année. Sa structure génétique fut approchée par l’analyse de la viabilité après croisements frère-sceur (une mesure du ? fardeau génétique ?) et le polymorphisme enzy- matique. Les mouches de printemps qui avaient résisté à l’hiver, n’