SUBSTRATE-PREFERENCE POLYMORPHISM AT AN ESTERASE LOCUS OF DROSOPHILA MOJAVENSIS

[摘要] In a larval esterase of Drosophila mojavensis there are alleles whose products preferentially hydrolyze α-naphthyl esters, whereas the majority of the alleles hydrolyze preferentially β-naphthyl esters. In a collection of laboratory stocks α alleles have a frequency of 15%. Three different mobilities of α alleles were discovered, suggesting a polymorphism rather than a single mutation event. If substrate-preference polymorphisms are common among "multiple-substrate" enzymes (category II of Gillespie and Langley 1974), allozyme variation at these enzyme loci may well be maintained by balancing selection.

[学科分类] 医学（综合）