Direct evidence of genic differentiation between sex ratio and standard gene arrangements of X chromosome in Drosophila pseudoobscura.

Evidence of strong association of alleles at the Esterase-5 and adult Acid phosphatase-6 loci with the Sex Ratio and the Standard X chromosome arrangements in D. pseudoobscura is presented. There is no differentiation at these two loci, either in the Sex Ratio or the Standard arrangement from two widely separated geographic populations. At the Esterase-5 locus, alleles characteristic of one arrangement are found in low frequencies in the other arrangement. It is concluded, from these and other observations that the differentiation between the Sex Ratio and the Standard arrangement, at these two loci, is a result of natural selection favoring different coadapted gene blocks in these arrangements. The average heterozygosity at these two loci in different karyotypes is in the following order: ST/SR > ST/ST >> SR/SR which agrees very well with the fitness estimates of these karyotypes.