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Alcohol dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster: Activity variation in natural populations

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Abstract

A natural population of Drosophila melanogaster was examined for activity variation in the polymorphic enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. The overall mean activity of the ADH-F strains proved to be approximately twice that of the ADH-S strains. Within each of the two electrophoretic classes, there was a wide spread of activity values and some overlap in activity between the classes. This variation should be taken into account when discussing the functional significance of the electrophoretically detectable polymorphism.

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This work was supported by an S.R.C. Research Studentship.

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Ward, R.D. Alcohol dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster: Activity variation in natural populations. Biochem Genet 12, 449–458 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00486062

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00486062

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