genetics
How can flies adapt via many interchangeable alleles?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Ten D. simulans replicates converged phenotypically under a new temperature regime, but used largely different selected alleles—evidence for genetic redundancy.
Key findings
Convergent fitness/metabolic/fat phenotypes with a strong polygenic response (99 selected alleles; mean s = 0.059), yet each allele rose only in a subset of replicates. Redundancy/QT paradigms fit better than independent selective-sweep simulations.
Methodology
Used laboratory natural selection on 10 replicate Drosophila simulans populations under a new temperature regime, tracking phenotypes and allele-frequency changes for selective sweeps vs polygenic adaptation.
Limitations
Lab temperature selection is not a direct map of wild climate adaptation; molecular non-convergence does not mean phenotypes lack shared physiological mechanisms.
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