Estimation of effective generation interval in Drosophila population cages

✍ Scribed by W. M. Muir; A. E. Bell

• Book ID: 104635310
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 382 KB
• Volume: 55
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0016-6707
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00134001

✦ Synopsis

An approximation method for calculating the effective generation interval in populations with overlapping generations was presented and illustrated with Drosophilamelanogaster data where a sustained heterosis (or pseudo-overdominance) was observed for sex-linked genes balanced by an inversion. An equilibrium frequency was established in replicated 2-bottle population cages which was different for males and females. The fitnesses of the genotypes were thus estimable and the expected gene frequencies with discrete generations were calculated. The effective generation interval was estimated by fitting the observed frequencies to those expected by minimizing the lack of fit chisquare. The best fit resulted if the interval was allowed to increase as the population approached a stable age distribution. The best estimate indicated that there was an average interval of 14.75 days per generation in the first 5 generations and 16.25 days thereafter. This estimate is particular to 2-bottle cages; as the number of bottles increases the expected generation interval is also expected to increase.