Genetic loads and coadaptivity of chromosomal inversions I. Inversion polymorphism and genetic load on chromosome O in a Drosophila subobscura population from Petnica

Abstract

Inversion polymorphism on chromosome O and polymorphism for the viability of determining genes have been studied in a natural population of Drosophila subobscura from Petnica (Serbia). The range of inversion polymorphism and the abundance of particular gene arrangements in the study population agree with a general pattern of inversion polymorphism of D. subobscura in Europe. The data obtained on the amount of genetic loads show that the D, subobscura population from Petnica displays a moderate degree of that polymorphism, compared to the other studied populations of these species. Therefore, the D. subobscura population from Petnica could be tentatively classified as an ecologically central population. Examination association of chromosomal, thus, inversion polymorphism with gene polymorphism, in the form of genetic loads show that differences exist in the mean viability among certain gene arrangements. The distribution of deleterious genes among chromosome O gene arrangements were non-random.