History and structure of sub-Saharan populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Drosophila melanogaster is an important model organism in evolutionary genetics, yet little is known about the population structure and the demographic history of this species within sub-Saharan Africa, which is thought to contain its ancestral range. We surveyed nucleotide variation at four 1-kb fragments in 240 individual lines representing 21 sub-Saharan and 4 Palearctic population samples of D. melanogaster. In agreement with recent studies, we find a small but significant level of genetic differentiation within sub-Saharan Africa. A clear geographic pattern is observed, with eastern and western African populations composing two genetically distinct groups. This pattern may have resulted from a relatively recent establishment of D. melanogaster in western Africa. Eastern populations sh

SUBMITTER: Pool JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1602083 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature