Developmental time and size-related traits in Drosophila buzzatii along an altitudinal gradient from Argentina

• Autores: Sambucetti, P.; Loeschcke, V.; Norry, F.M.
• Año de publicación: 2006
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Hereditas 2006;143(2006):77-83
• Materia: altitude; Argentina; article; body size; development; Drosophila; drosophila buzzatii; evolution; forelimb; genetic trait; nonhuman; thorax; time; Altitude; Animals; Argentina; Body Size; Drosophila; Female; Male; Temperature; Time Factors; Variation (Genetics); Wing; Drosophila buzzatii
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales

Clinal analysis for fitness-related traits provides a well-known approach to investigate adaptive evolution. Several fitness-related traits (developmental time, thorax length, wing length and wing loading) were measured at two laboratory generations (G7 and G33) of D. buzzatii from an altitudinal gradient from northwestern Argentina, where significant thermal differences persist. Developmental time (DT) was positively correlated with altitude of origin of population. Further, DT was negatively correlated with maximal mean temperature at the site of origin of population, and this thermal variable decreases with altitude. Wing loading tended to be larger in highland than in lowland populations, suggesting that flight performance is subject to stronger selection pressure in highland populations. Developmental time showed a significant increase with laboratory generation number. There was no significant correlation between developmental time and body size across populations along the altitudinal cline of DT. This result illustrates that developmental time and body size do not always evolve in the same direction, even though both traits are often positively and genetically correlated in a well-known tradeoff in Drosophila.
Fil:Sambucetti, P. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.
Fil:Norry, F.M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina.