Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 15, 1620-1636, Copyright © 1998 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
CM Hutter, MD Schug and CF Aquadro
Interspecific comparisons of microsatellite loci have repeatedly shown that
the loci are longer and more variable in the species from which they are
derived (the focal species) than are homologous loci in other (nonfocal)
species. There is debate as to whether this is due to directional evolution
or to an ascertainment bias during the cloning and locus selection
processes. This study tests these hypotheses by performing a reciprocal
study. Eighteen perfect dinucleotide microsatellite loci identified from a
Drosophila simulans library screen and 18 previously identified in an
identical Drosophila melanogaster library screen were used to survey
natural populations of each species. No difference between focal and
nonfocal species was observed for mean PCR fragment length. However,
heterozygosity and number of alleles were significantly higher in the focal
species than in the nonfocal species. The most common allele in the
Zimbabwe population of both species was sequenced for 31 of the 36 loci.
The length of the longest stretch of perfect repeat units is, on average,
longer in the focal species than in the non-focal species. There is a
positive correlation between the length of the longest stretch of perfect
repeats and heterozygosity. The difference in heterozygosity can thus be
explained by a reduction in the length of the longest stretch of perfect
repeats in the nonfocal species. Furthermore, flanking-sequence length
difference was noted between the two species at 58% of the loci sequenced.
These data do not support the predictions of the directional-evolution
hypothesis; however, consistent with the ascertainment bias hypothesis, the
lower variability in nonfocal species is an artifact of the microsatellite
cloning and isolation process. Our results also suggest that the magnitude
of ascertainment bias for repeat unit length is a function of the
microsatellite size distribution in the genomes of different species.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Microsatellite variation in Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans: a reciprocal test of the ascertainment bias hypothesis
Section of Genetics and Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
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