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Associations between DNA sequence variation and variation in expression of the Adh gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: A large part of the genetic variation in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity level in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster is associated with segregation of an amino acid replacement polymorphism at nucleotide 1490, which generates a difference in electrophoretic mobility. Part of the allozymic difference in activity level is due to a catalytic efficiency difference, which is also caused by the amino acid replacement, and part is due to a difference in the concentration of ADH protein. A previous site-directed in vitro mutagenesis experiment clearly demonstrated that the amino acid replacement has no effect on the concentration of ADH protein, nor does a strongly associated silent polymorphism at nucleotide 1443. Here we analyze associations between polymorphisms within the Adh gene and variation in ADH protein level for a number of chromosomes derived from natural populations. A sequence length polymorphism within the first intron of the distal (adult) transcript, 1, is in strong linkage disequilibrium with the amino acid replacement. Among a sample of 46 isochromosomal lines analyzed, all but one of the 14 Fast lines have 1 and all but one of the 32 Slow lines lack 1. The exceptional Fast line has an unusually low level of ADH protein (typical of Slow lines) and the exceptional Slow line has an unusually high level (typical of Fast lines). These results suggest that the 1 polymorphism may be responsible for the average difference in ADH protein between the allozymic classes. A previous experiment localized the effect on ADH protein to a 2.3-kb restriction fragment. DNA sequences of this fragment from several alleles of each allozymic type indicate that no other polymorphisms within this region are as closely associated with the ADH protein level difference as the 1 polymorphism.

SUBMITTER: Laurie CC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1204638 | biostudies-other | 1991 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Associations between DNA sequence variation and variation in expression of the Adh gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

Laurie C C CC Bridgham J T JT Choudhary M M

Genetics 19911001 2

A large part of the genetic variation in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity level in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster is associated with segregation of an amino acid replacement polymorphism at nucleotide 1490, which generates a difference in electrophoretic mobility. Part of the allozymic difference in activity level is due to a catalytic efficiency difference, which is also caused by the amino acid replacement, and part is due to a difference in the concentration of ADH protein ...[more]

PMID: 1683848

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Project description:Changes in temperature disrupt the fluidity of cellular membranes, which can negatively impact membrane integrity and cellular processes. Many ectotherms, including Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen), adjust the glycerophospholipid composition of their membranes to restore optimal fluidity when temperatures change, a type of trait plasticity termed homeoviscous adaptation.Existing data suggest that plasticity in the relative abundances of the glycerophospholipids phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) underlies cellular adaptation to temporal variability in the thermal environment. For example, laboratory populations of D. melanogaster evolved in the presence of temporally variable temperatures have greater developmental plasticity of the ratio of PE to PC (PE/PC) and greater fecundity than do populations evolved at constant temperatures.Here, we extend this work to natural populations of D. melanogaster by evaluating thermal plasticity of glycerophospholipid composition at different life stages, in genotypes isolated from Vermont, Indiana and North Carolina, USA. We also quantify the covariance between developmental and adult (reversible) plasticity, and between adult responses of the membrane to cool and warm thermal shifts.As predicted by physiological models of homeoviscous adaptation, flies from all populations decrease PE/PC and the degree of lipid unsaturation in response to warm temperatures. Furthermore, these populations have diverged in their degree of membrane plasticity. Flies from the most variable thermal environment (Vermont, USA) decrease PE/PC to a greater extent than do other populations when developed at a warm temperature, a pattern that matches our previous observation in laboratory-evolved populations. We also find that developmental plasticity and adult plasticity of PE/PC covary across genotypes, but that adult responses to cool and warm thermal shifts do not.When combined with our previous observations of laboratory-evolved populations, our findings implicate developmental plasticity of PE/PC as a mechanism of thermal adaptation in temporally variable environments. While little is known about the genetic bases of plastic responses to temperature, our observations suggest that both environmentally sensitive and environmentally specific alleles contribute to thermal adaptation of membranes, and that costs of plasticity may arise when the adult environment differs from that experienced during development.

Dataset Information

Associations between DNA sequence variation and variation in expression of the Adh gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

Publications

Associations between DNA sequence variation and variation in expression of the Adh gene in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

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