Fitness parameters and selection indices in Drosophila melanogaster strains derived from natural and urban populations

  • S. V. Duz V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, 61022, Kharkiv, Svobody sq., 4 https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4536-2589
  • V. Yu. Strashnyuk V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, 61022, Kharkiv, Svobody sq., 4; Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, 1113, Sofia, Acad. G. Bonchev str., Bldg. 21 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8343-866X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7124/FEEO.v38.1796
Keywords: population, urban ecology, fecundity, mortality, selective pressure

Abstract

Aim. The aim of the study was to comparatively assess the selection indices in Drosophila melanogaster strains obtained from natural and urban populations. Methods. The material was fruit fly strains derived from urban populations of Kharkiv from different locations: Sarzhyn Yar (recreational zone), RA (residential area), KhCP (Kharkiv Coke Plant, industrial zone) and the Haidary strain from the natural population. The following fitness indicators were studied in strains: female’s egg production, number of adult offspring, embryonic and pupal mortality. Selection indices were calculated using the Crow’s method. Results. In terms of selection index associated with differential fecundity (If), strains obtained from natural and urban populations did not have significant differences. The selection indices associated with differential mortality (Im) in strains derived from urban populations were 1.6–2.6 times higher compared to the Haidary strain. The total selection indices (Itot) in strains obtained from urban populations were 1.8–2.5 times higher than in the strain derived from the natural population. Conclusions. The results obtained indicate increased selective pressure in fruit fly strains derived from populations living in anthropogenically transformed urban environment.

References

Alberti M., Correa C., Marzluff J. M., Hendry A. P., Palkovacs E. P., Gotanda K. M., Hunt V. M., Apgar T. M., Zhou Y. Global urban signatures of phenotypic change in animal and plant populations. PNAS. 2017. Vol. 114. P. 8951–8956. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606034114.

Crow J. F. Some possibilities for measuring selection intensities in man. Human Biology. 1958. Vol. 30. P. 1–13.

Diamond S. E., Chick L., Perez A., Strickler S., Martin R. A. Rapid evolution of ant thermal tolerance across an urban–rural cline. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 2017. Vol. 121. P. 248–257. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blw047.

Flatt T. Life-history evolution and the genetics of fitness components in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 2020. Vol. 214. P. 3–48. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.119.300160.

Johnson M. T. J., Munshi-South J. Evolution of life in urban environments. Science. 2017. Vol. 358, No. 6363. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam8327.

Kapun M., Steindl S., Ricci M., Löhnertz M., Strasser F., Chen R. Q., Timaeus L., Szucsich N., Haring E. Ecology and diversity of urban Drosophila species communities as potential indicators of biodiversity decline. Ecology and Evolution. 2026. Vol. 16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.72826.

Lukianov M. D., Zlatiev A. S., Vakulenko E. V., Skorobagatko D. A., Mazilov A. A., Strashnyuk V. Yu. Selection parameters in lines of Drosophila melanogaster Meig., obtained from populations living in territories with different levels of radiation pollution: approbation of the Crow’s method. The Journal of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. 2023. Is. 41. P. 41–50. https://doi.org/10.26565/2075-5457-2023-41-4. [in Ukrainian]

Paul M. J., Meyer J. L. Streams in the urban landscape. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 2001. Vol. 32. P. 333–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73412-5_12.

Ramniwas S., Kumar G., Pandey M., Singh D. Impact of urbanization and temperature on local abundance of Drosophila repleta Wollaston (1858) in the Western Himalayas. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology. 2024. Vol. 27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2024.102200.

Takenaka N., Takahashi Y. Adaptation to nighttime light via gene expression regulation in Drosophila suzukii. Ecology and Evolution. 2025. Vol. 15. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71971.

Thompson K. A., Rieseberg L. H., Schluter D. Speciation and the city. Trends Ecology and Evolution. 2018. Vol. 33. P. 815–826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.08.007.

Yamasaki T. Measurement of fitness and its components in six laboratory strains of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics. 1984. Vol. 108. P. 201–211.