Biochemical genetics ofFundulus heteroclitus(L.). I. Temporal and spatial variation in gene frequencies ofLdh-B, Mdh-A, Gpi-B, andPgm-A

✍ Scribed by Dennis A. Powers; Allen R. Place

• Book ID: 104783837
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 703 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-2928
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00484222

✦ Synopsis

Natural populations of Fundulus heteroclitus show extensive spatial variation in gene frequencies at four unlinked polymorphic loci. Large clinal changes in gene frequencies were found for Ldh-B, Mdh-A, and Gpi-B, whereas the spatial variation for the Pgm-B locus was small. Since the geographical area over which these clines are found is characterized by a steep thermal gradient, the clines in gene frequency are correlated with a directional change in mean water temperature. Maximum gene diversity of these four loci was correlated with annual fluctuations in water temperature. Temporal stability of the allelic frequencies was established for a 2--4 year period.