Evidence for autosomal meiotic drive in the butterfly Danaus chrysippus L.
Evidence for autosomal meiotic drive in the butterfly Danaus chrysippus L.
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionSmith, DAS, Heredity, 36:139-142. 1976.
Danaus chrysippus (Danaidae) in East Africa is highly polymorphic for colour, the genetic control of which resides at three loci. The B locus has two alleles, B giving a nutbrown ground colour and bb orange on both fore and hindwings. The C locus determines forewing pattern: there are two alleles, C giving a wing uniformly coloured except for a black margin (form dorippus) and cc a large black apical area traversed by a row of white subapical spots (form ae&yptius = form chrysippus of my earlier papers). Heterozygotes (Cc) are basically dorippus but are often phenotypically distinct in showing the “aegyptius” subapical spots on the underside of the forewing. The B and C loci are closely linked (Smith, 1975a). The A locus has a recessive allele a the homozygous possessor of which has a large white patch on the hindwing (form alcippus when combined with the aegyptius forewing and form albinus with the dorippus forewing). The A locus probably assorts independently from the B and C loci (Clarke, Sheppard and Smith, 1973; Smith, 1975a). All-female broods commonly occur in D. chrysippus. These probably result when a Y-linked gene D causes meiotic drive for the Y chromosome so that it always enters the secondary oocyte at the first meiotic division in the female. Females from all-female broods usually themselves produce allfemale broods but a switch to bisexual broods can occur and seems to depend on the acquisition of a dominant autosomal suppressor gene S from the maternal male grandparent. The S locus is probably closely linked with the C locus (Smith, 1975b).