Multifaceted approach to evaluate the relationship among closely related forms of Drosophila

Abstract

Drosophila is a suitable system to study different facets of population differentiation. Drosophila sulfurigaster, Drosophila bilimbata, Drosophila albostrigata, Drosophila neonasuta and Drosophila pulaua are morphologically indistinguishable members of the orbital sheen complex of the nasuta subgroup of Drosophila. They are distributed in different parts of south east Asia. The evolutionary inter-relationship between these closely related forms will be discussed with reference to karyotypes, heterochromatin, satellite DNA, population fitness, ecogenetic divergence and isozyme variations.