Coadaptation revisited

During the four decades or more since Dobzhansky introduced the term "coadaptation" to refer to the commonly observed selective superiority of inversion heterozygotes in populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura, the definition of the term has evolved, as have views concerning the rapidity with which coadaptation might occur. Indeed, the paucity of demonstrated instances of linkage disequilibrium in natural populations has led many to dismiss coadaptation as a factor in evolutionary change. The present article reviews the reasons why coadaptation (and the equivalent expression, "integration of gene pools") was proposed as a phenomenon occurring in local (or experimental) populations, offers supporting data obtained through a reanalysis of data on irradiated populations of D. melanogaster, and concludes that sound evidence supports coadaptation as a factor in the genetic change of populations.