Clinal variation in natural populations of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>: An old debate about natural selection and neutral processes

Distinguishing between environmental adaptations and neutral processes poses a challenge in population genetics and evolutionary studies, particularly when phenomena can be explained by both processes. Clines are genotypic or phenotypic characters correlated with environmental variables, because of that correlation, they are used as examples of spatially varying selection. At the same time, many genotypic clines can be explained by demographic history, like isolation by distance or secondary contact zones. Clines have been extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster, especially in North America and Australia, where they are attributed to both differential selection and various demographic processes. This review explores existing literature supporting this conclusion and suggests new approaches to better understand the influence of these processes on clines. These innovative approaches aim to shed light on the longstanding debate regarding the importance of natural selection versus neutral processes in maintaining variation in natural populations.

Keywords:
Adaptation; biogeographic history; phenotypic plasticity; secondary contact

Authorship

Vitória H. Miranda

Conceived the main ideas for the review

Contributed to the literature review and drafting of the main text

text review and editing

read and approved the manuscript

Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.Universidade de São PauloBrasilSão Paulo, SP, BrasilUniversidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Rafael Viana Amaral

Contributed to the literature review and drafting of the main text

text review and editing

read and approved the manuscript

Rodrigo Cogni

Conceived the main ideas for the review

text review and editing

read and approved the manuscript

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9907-9297

Send correspondence to Rodrigo Cogni. Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Rua do Matão 321, Trav. 14, Cid. Universitária, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail: rcogni@usp.br.

Associate Editor:

Carlos F. M. Menck

Conflict of Interest

The authors affirm that there are no conflicts of interest that could be seen as compromising the impartiality of this text

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Figures

Figures (2)

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Figure 1 -
Latitudinal clinal patterns for populations of Drosophila melanogaster phenotypes measured at different continental wide gradients. Blue arrows represent a positive correlation with latitude for the phenotype value, while red arrows indicate a negative correlation.

Thumbnail

Figure 2 -
Hypothetical global ancestries of six populations, each with 10 sampled individuals, distributed along the North American latitudinal gradient (A is the furthest southern and F the furthest northern) in the past (left) and present (right). As individuals migrate and admixt global ancestries differences between populations become smaller, and so as the proportion of clinal SNPs (bottom).

Figure 1 - Latitudinal clinal patterns for populations of Drosophila melanogaster phenotypes measured at different continental wide gradients. Blue arrows represent a positive correlation with latitude for the phenotype value, while red arrows indicate a negative correlation.

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Figure 2 - Hypothetical global ancestries of six populations, each with 10 sampled individuals, distributed along the North American latitudinal gradient (A is the furthest southern and F the furthest northern) in the past (left) and present (right). As individuals migrate and admixt global ancestries differences between populations become smaller, and so as the proportion of clinal SNPs (bottom).

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Clinal variation in natural populations of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>: An old debate about natural selection and neutral processes

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[1] Send correspondence to Rodrigo Cogni. Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Ecologia, Rua do Matão 321, Trav. 14, Cid. Universitária, 05508-090, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail: rcogni@usp.br.