Linkage disequilibrium in experimental populations ofDrosophila simulans: a test of the random drift hypothesis

Abstract

SummaryLinkage disequilibrium between five polymorphic enzymic loci of the third chromosome (Esterase-6, Phosphoglucomutase, Esterase-C, Aldehyde Oxidase and Acid Phosphatase) was studied in experimental populations ofDrosophila simulans. Gametic data were obtained by mating sampled males with homozygous females at the five loci. Four cage populations were initiated with flies caught from natural populations. Extensive linkage disequilibrium was detected after 25 or 34 generations. The effective size of these populations was estimated about 400. Monte-Carlo simulations were performed in order to determine whether the observed disequilibria could be due to genetic drift. The observed probability distribution of the experimental values ofr(the gametic correlation coefficient) was consistent with the distribution expected under random genetic drift. Our results are thus in accordance with the neutralist hypothesis.