How small are the smallest selectable domains of form?

Abstract

Abstract Two lines of Drosophila melanogaster from the same base population were selected in opposite directions to produce simultaneous antagonistic changes in two very small (less than 0.2 mm) and closely adjacent (less than 0.3 mm) dimensions within the base of the wing. Wing dimensions near the targeted area became differentiated by large positive and negative percentage differences, while only small homogeneous percentage changes occurred in the remainder of the wing. If very small regions of morphology (less than 100 cells across) can respond to selection almost independently, even in small population samples, then the control of developmental detail must involve many genes, and the diversity of possible outcomes in development and adaptation must be large.