Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 4, 343-350, Copyright © 1987 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
A Caccone, GD Amato and JR Powell
Drosophila mercatorum is a species that can give rise to totally homozygous
parthenogenetic strains. Using the technique of DNA-DNA hybridization, we
have assessed the overall single-copy DNA differences among three
independently derived strains that represent three independent genomes.
Among strains, the average difference between homoduplex and heteroduplex
median melting temperatures is 1.3 degrees C. This represents greater than
or equal to 1.3% base-pair mismatch. Normalized percent of reassociation
indicates further genetic differences, probably reflecting
insertion/deletion differences and/or regions of the genome that are highly
variable. This overall intraspecific genetic variation is higher than
generally is thought to exist but is consistent with growing evidence of
extensive DNA diversity within species of invertebrates. High intraspecific
DNA variation may be correlated with rapid phyletic rates of evolution.
Because of this high level of variation, the technique of DNA-DNA
hybridization may be used to study intraspecific variation in invertebrates
but is limited in its usefulness for higher systematic studies.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Intraspecific DNA divergence in Drosophila: a study on parthenogenetic D. mercatorum
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511.
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