Molecular population genetics and evolution of Drosophila meiosis genes.

ABSTRACT: While many functional elements of the meiotic process are well characterized in model organisms, the genetic basis of most of the natural phenotypic variation observed in meiotic pathways has not been determined. To begin to address this issue, we characterized patterns of polymorphism and divergence in the protein-coding regions of 33 genes across 31 lines of Drosophila melanogaster and 6 lines of Drosophila simulans. We sequenced genes known to be involved in chromosome segregation, recombination, DNA repair, and related heterochromatin binding. As expected, we found several of the genes to be highly conserved, consistent with purifying selection. However, a subset of genes showed patterns of polymorphism and divergence typical of other types of natural selection. Moreover, several intri

SUBMITTER: Anderson JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2621166 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature