IS THE EXTREMELY LOW HETEROZYGOSITY LEVEL INYPONOMEUTA RORELLUSCAUSED BY BOTTLENECKS?

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Abstract
Among the common and widespread species of the small ermine moths (Yponomeuta) the almost complete absence of genetic variability from a sample of 75 protein loci is a striking feature of Y. rorellus. Congeners exhibit normal to high H levels. At least for soluble proteins, this variation estimate is a real one, not resulting from an inability of the zymogram technique to detect variation nor from a biased sample of loci. The most likely explanation for the dearth of variation observed is a bottleneck at the species' origin. Moreover, ongoing population-size fluctations in the historical past of Y. rorellus may have prevented the recovery of equilibrium H levels as a consequence of genetic drift in small populations.
Funding Information
  • Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (ZWO/BION)