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Genetic Loads affecting Longevity in Natural Populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura

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Abstract

GENETIC loads consist of deleterious genes or gene complexes mostly recessive and concealed in the heterozygous state. The heterozygous individuals found in natural populations are usually superior in fitness to inbred progenies, which are made in part homozygous. This superiority is manifested in two ways: (a) the heterozygous combinations have a higher average in most components of the Darwinian fitness; (b) their phenotypic variability tends to be lower, because of the better buffering ability against environmental fluctuations1.

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Author notes

  1. DRAGOSLAV MARINKOVIC

    Present address: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia

  2. JEAN MARIE WATTIAUX

    Present address: Chargé de recherches au FNRS, Laboratoire de Génétique F.A. Janssens, Université de Louvain, Belgium

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Rockefeller University, New York

    DRAGOSLAV MARINKOVIC & JEAN MARIE WATTIAUX

Authors
  1. DRAGOSLAV MARINKOVIC
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  2. JEAN MARIE WATTIAUX
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MARINKOVIC, D., WATTIAUX, J. Genetic Loads affecting Longevity in Natural Populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Nature 216, 170–171 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216170a0

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