Reduction in the cumulative effect of stress-induced inbreeding depression due to intragenerational purging in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Environmental stress generally exacerbates the harmful effects of inbreeding and it has been proposed that this could be exploited in purging deleterious alleles from threatened inbred populations. However, understanding what factors contribute to variability in the strength of inbreeding depression (ID) observed across adverse environmental conditions remains a challenge. Here, we examined how the nature and timing of stress affects ID and the potential for purging using inbred and outbred Drosophila melanogaster larvae exposed to biotic (larval competition, bacteria infection) and abiotic (ethanol, heat) stressors compared with unstressed controls. ID was measured during (larval survival) and after (male mating success) stress exposure. The level of stress imposed by each stressor was ap

SUBMITTER: Enders LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4806569 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature