Genetic differences between host races of Rhagoletis pomonella (original) (raw)

Nature volume 336, pages 64–66 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Sympatric speciation by the formation of host races (parasite populations associated with different plant or animal hosts) has been the subject of great controversy. It has been difficult to demonstrate the existence of host races1,2, much less to prove that host races are evolving toward species status. Genetic polymorphism attributable to association with different resources does occur3, but the phenomenon is far from ubiquitous in parasite populations. The apple maggot fly Rhagoletis pomonella uses a variety of host plants, and Bush4,5 has argued that it is a likely candidate for speciation by a sympatric mode. So far however there has been no direct evidence of any genetic differentiation between host-associated fly populations. We report significant differences in allele frequencies between fly populations reared from sympatric apple (Mains pumila) and hawthorn (Crataegus mollis) trees at a field site in Urbana, Illinois, in the United States.

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Author notes

  1. Bruce A. McPheron
    Present address: Department of Entomology, Pesticide Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
  2. D. Courtney Smith
    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, 61801, USA
    Bruce A. McPheron, D. Courtney Smith & Stewart H. Berlocher
  2. Department of Entomology, Pesticide Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA
    D. Courtney Smith

Authors

  1. Bruce A. McPheron
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  2. D. Courtney Smith
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  3. Stewart H. Berlocher
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McPheron, B., Smith, D. & Berlocher, S. Genetic differences between host races of Rhagoletis pomonella.Nature 336, 64–66 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336064a0

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