Sex ratio polymorphism in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods
Beckenbach, AT, American Naturalist, 137:340-343. 1991.

I studied “sex-ratio” (SR) genotype frequencies in two populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura from southeastern Arizona: Bear Creek Canyon and Tucson. Wild-inseminated females were collected, their fecundities measured in the laboratory, and their SR genotypes inferred by cytological analysis of their progenies. A statistically significant fecundity deficiency was observed among SR/SR females from Bear Creek Canyon. The SR frequency in the Tucson population increased at a rate consistent with the operation of meiotic drive unopposed by selection.