Selection on Viability of Individuals Heterozygous for the Temperature-Sensitive Lethal Mutation l(2)M167 DTS in Experimental Populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

In experiments on introduction of mutation l(2)M167 DTS in Drosophila melanogaster populations, larval and pupal viability and developmental rate are limiting factors determining the intensity of selection on the l(2)M167 DTS mutation. Notwithstanding the rapid elimination of the mutation from the population, positive selection for viability was shown, which increased fitness of the mutation carriers in generations. The fitness component viability was estimated in individuals l(2)M167 DTS /+; relative to that of wild-type individuals, it varied from 0.5 to 1.0. Factors affecting this trait in overcrowded populations were found. GENERAL GENETICS