Abstract
The relationship between allelic frequencies at the Adh locus and latitude of origin was studied using selected published data from various parts of the world and original observations. An overall increase of Adh-F with increasing latitude was observed but the relationship is not linear. Tropical populations are generally similar, having a low frequency of the F allele (average 15 per cent) and a smooth increase with latitude (one per cent for one degree). Between 30 and 42° latitude, populations living in a Mediterranean climate in various parts of the world (Mediterranean countries, Australia's east coast and North America's west coast) are also similar, with a much higher average frequency of F (70 per cent), a steeper slope (two per cent) and a broader range of variability for a given latitude. In a restricted area (near Cordoba in southern Spain) numerous wild collected samples also showed a large variability, sometimes over a very short distance. Allelic frequencies in Mediterranean countries are thus quite unstable and it is proposed that this phenomenon be called a “Mediterranean instability”. Further north, numerous samples from France were characterized by an even higher frequency of F (95 per cent) and a greater homogeneity over a broad geographic area. These observations are discussed and the need for more field studies is emphasized.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Aguade, M, and Serra, L. 1980. Spanish cellar populations of Drosophila melanogaster. I. Study of variability at three different levels: quantitative, chromosomal and molecular. Genetika (Beograd), 12, 111–120.
Alonso-Moraga, A, Munoz-Serrano, A, and Rodero, A. 1985. Variation of alloenzyme frequencies in Spanish field and cellar populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Génét Sél Evol, 17, 435–442.
Alonso-Moraga, A, and Munoz-Serrano, A. 1986. Allozyme polymorphism and linkage disequilibrium of Adh and -Gpdh loci in wine cellar and field populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Experientia, 42, 1048–1050.
Anderson, P R, and Oakeshott, J G. 1984. Parallel geographical pattern of allozyme variation in two sibling Drosophila species. Nature, 308, 729–731.
Anderson, P R, Knibb, W R, and Oakeshott, J G. 1987. Observation on the extent of latitudinal clines for alcohol dehydrogenase and four chromosome inversions in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetica, 75, 81–88.
Briscoe, D E, Robertson, A, and Malpica, J M. 1975. Dominance at Adh locus in response of adult Drosophila melanogaster to environmental alcohol. Nature, 255, 148–149.
Capy, P, David, J R, Allemand, R, Carton, Y, Febvay, G, and Kermarec, A. 1986. Genetic analysis of Drosophila melanogaster in the French West Indies and comparison with populations from other parts of the world. Genetics, 69, 167–176.
Capy, P, David, J R, Carton, Y, Pla, E, and Stockel, J. 1987. Grape breeding Drosophila communities in Southern France: short range variation in ecological and genetical structure of natural populations. Acta Oecol, Oecol gener, 8, 435–440.
Capy, P, David, J R, and Delay, B. 1988. Can we modify the genetic structure of a Drosophila natural population by releasing genetically marked flies? Genet Iberica (in press).
Charles-Palabost, L, Lehmann, M, and Mercot, H. 1985. Allozyme variation in fourteen natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster collected from different regions of France. Génét Sélec Evol, 17, 201–210.
David, J R. 1982. Latitudinal variability of Drosophila melanogaster: allozyme frequencies divergence between European and Afrotropical populations. Biochem Genet, 20, 747–761.
David, J R. 1983. An attempt to modify allelic frequencies at the Adh locus of a Drosophila melanogaster population in a tropical environment. Génét Sél Evol, 15, 495–500.
David, J R, and Capy, P. 1988. Genetic variation of Drosophila melanogaster natural populations. Trends in Genetics, 4, 106–111.
David, J R, Mercot, H, Capy, P, McEvey, S F, and Van Herrewege, J. 1986. Alcohol tolerance and Adh gene frequencies in European and African populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Génét Sel Evol, 18, 405–416.
David, J R, Capy, P, McEvey, S F, Daly, K, and Borai, F. 1987. Latitudinal clines of Adh gene frequencies in Drosophila melanogaster: a mediterranean instability. Droso Inf Serv 66, 40–41.
Endler, J A. 1986. Natural Selection in the Wild. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 336pp.
Girard, P, and Palabost, L. 1976. Etude du polymorphisme enzymatique de 15 populations naturelles de Drosophila melanogaster. Arc Zool exp gén, 117, 41–55.
Grossman, A I. 1973. Study of alcohol dehydrogenase and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in the Israel natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Droso Inf Serv, 50, 119–120.
Grossman, A L, Korenova, L G, and Ulitscaya, L E. 1970. The variability of Adh locus in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster. (in Russian). Genetika (Moscow), 6, 95–101.
Hickey, D A, and McLean, M D. 1980. Selection for ethanol tolerance and ADH allozymes in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Genet Res, 36, 11–15.
Johnson, F M, and Schaffer, H E. 1973. Isozyme variability in species of the genus Drosophila VII. Genotype-environment relationships in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from the Eastern United States. Biochem Genet, 10, 149–163.
Marks, R W, Brittnacker, J G, McDonald, J F, Prout, T, and Ayala, F J. 1980. Wineries, Drosophila, alcohol and ADH. Oecologia, 47, 141–144.
McKenzie, J A, and McKechnie, S W. 1978. Ethanol tolerance and the Adh polymorphism in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster. Nature, 272, 75–76.
McKenzie, J A, and McKechnie, S W. 1981. The alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphism in a vineyard cellar population of Drosophila melanogaster. In Gibson, J. B. and Oake-shott, J. G. (ed.) “Genetic Studies of Drosophila Populations”, Australian Nat. Univ. Press, Canberra, pp. 201–215.
McKenzie, J A, and Parsons, P A. 1974. Microdifferentiation in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster to alcohol in the environment. Genetics, 77, 385–394.
Munoz-Serrano, A, Alonso-Moraga, A, and Rodero, A. 1985. Annual variation of enzyme polymorphism in four natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster occupying different niches. Genetica, 67, 121–129.
Nielsen, K M, Hoffmann, A A, and McKechnie, S W. 1985. Population genetics of the metabolically related Adh, Gpdh and Tpi polymorphisms in Drosophila melanogaster: II. Temporal and spatial variation in an orchard population. Génét Sél Evol, 17, 41–58.
Oakeshott, J G, Gibson, J B, Anderson, P R, Knibb, W R, Anderson, D G, and Chambers, G K. 1982. Alcohol dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase clines in Drosophila melanogaster on different continents. Evolution, 36, 86–96.
Singh, R S, Hickey, D A, and David, J R. 1982. Genetic differentiation between geographically distant populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics, 101, 235–256.
Smith, M R, Chambers, G K, Brooks, L D, Cohan, F M, and Cohan, S C. 1984. How many Adh clines on the West coast of North America? Droso Inf Serv, 60, 188–189.
Van Delden, W. 1982. The alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphism in Drosophila melanogaster. Selection at an enzyme locus. Evol Biol, 15, 187–222.
Wright, S. 1951. The genetical structure of populations. Ann Eugen, 15, 323–354.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
David, J., Alonso-Moraga, A., Borai, F. et al. Latitudinal variation of Adh gene frequencies in Drosophila melanogaster: a Mediterranean instability. Heredity 62, 11–16 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1989.2
Received:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1989.2
This article is cited by
-
Adaptive differentiation of thermotolerance in Drosophila along a microclimatic gradient
Heredity (2006)
-
Variation of allozyme loci in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from the former USSR
Heredity (1996)
-
Enzyme polymorphism inDrosophila melanogaster populations collected in two different habitats in Hungary
Genetica (1995)
-
Geographical differentiation of allozymic variability in natural Indian populations ofDrosophila melanogaster
Biochemical Genetics (1994)
-
The alcohol dehydrogenase polymorphism in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster: restriction map variation in the region of the Adh locus in populations from two hemispheres
Heredity (1992)
