RECOMBINATION RATE IN SELECTED LINES OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER MEIG

SUMMARY The recombination frequency between three genes of the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster Meig. (black, cinnabar, vestigial) was estimated in two lines selected for short wing (C and CF) and in a cross between them (F1). The recombination rate in the selected lines was different from that in the Canton strain from which they were derived; moreover, the two selected lines differed between themselves, while the recombination rate in the F1 population was similar to that observed in the parental line C. These results suggest that the action of the factors which modify the recombination in the C line are «dominant» over those in the CF line. The results obtained have relevance in the study of population dynamics: it is argued that selection and recombination are part of an auto-regulating complex; it is also suggested that the «dominance» effect of the factors involved in recombination control may provide a «dynamic barrier» which causes the gene pools of the two populations to behave differ...