A high frequency of heritable changes in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster in Ukraine

Abstract

Spontaneous mutations are thought to have a stable rate for a given species. If non-adaptive, they appear at low frequencies and are governed by drift. However, environmental factors have been reported to cause spread of non-adaptive mutations in populations, governed by mechanisms, such as genetic assimilation. In the present study, we report a simultaneous appearance of a mutant and apparently non-adaptive C2 vein in Drosophila melanogaster at higher than expected frequencies in several distant populations, which excludes the role of drift or selection as the cause of the reported mutation frequencies. We discuss explanations of the phenomenon, including the role of external factors, such as temperature, in the possible genetic assimilation of the trait.