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Natural selection in a bottle.

David Houle1, Locke Rowe

  • 1Department of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada. dhoule@bio.fsu.edu

The American Naturalist
|March 26, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Experimental evolution in fruit flies revealed that late-developing flies did not decrease in size, suggesting unknown constraints on natural selection for age at first reproduction.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Laboratory experimental evolution systems offer valuable insights into natural selection and adaptation.
  • Understanding the norm of reaction for age at first reproduction is crucial for evolutionary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate natural selection on the norm of reaction of age at first reproduction in a long-term laboratory population of Drosophila melanogaster.
  • To identify potential constraints on evolutionary responses to selection.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized genetically marked strains of Drosophila melanogaster.
  • Assessed development time, size, female fecundity, and viability.
  • Analyzed flies initiating development at different times within a discrete generation schedule.

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Main Results:

  • Flies initiating development within 30 hours of the bottle initiation had to eclose before the next transfer.
  • Contrary to theoretical predictions, flies initiating development later were not smaller in size at maturity.
  • This indicates an unidentified constraint affecting the response to selection on age at maturity.

Conclusions:

  • Laboratory populations provide a powerful system for studying natural selection, genetic variation, and evolutionary responses.
  • An unknown constraint limits the ability of Drosophila melanogaster to reduce size to meet an eclosion deadline.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the specific mechanisms behind this observed constraint.