ISSN:
1573-4927
Keywords:
α-Gpdh
;
polymorphism
;
winglessness
;
Gerridae
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract Variation at the α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (α-Gpdh; EC 1.1.1.8) locus was surveyed in 11 species of waterstriders (Gerridae: Hemiptera) and five other species of aquatic Hemiptera. Species of waterstriders exhibited considerable inter- and intraspecific variation in degree of winglessness. Average heterozygosity (0.401±0.090) and average number of observed electromorphs (5.36±0.96) for the 11 gerrid species were well above values reported for nearly all other insect species surveyed to date. Wing-monomorphic and wing-polymorphic species did not differ in average α-Gpdh heterozygosity. Of the three wing-polymorphic species surveyed geographically, two species exhibited marked variation in wing-morph frequencies but homogeneous α-Gpdh allele frequencies. The third species exhibited geographically homogeneous α-Gpdh and wing-morph frequencies, but no significant association between α-Gpdh phenotype and wing morph was observed in any surveyed population. These results are consistent with hypotheses evoking either relaxed purifying selection at the α-Gpdh locus in species of Gerridae due to the apparent reduced importance of flight, or selective maintenance of common α-Gpdh electromorphs.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00484010
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