How do organisms adapt to climate change? Chromosomal inversions in 'Drosophila subobscura': The case of Serbian populations

Authors

  • Francesc Mestres Naval University of Barcelona (Spain).
  • Goran Zivanovic Siniša Stankovi? Institute for Biological Research at the University of Belgrade (Serbia).
  • Conxita Arenas Sola University of Barcelona (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.6.4042

Keywords:

Drosophila subobscura, chromosome inversion, adaptation, natural selection, climate change

Abstract

It is well known that chromosomal inversions in natural populations of the species Drosophila subobscura are adaptations to changes in the environment. It has been observed that inversions change in frequency over time and that they are so far following the pattern expected given the global warming of our planet. These results have been brought to light by our research on Serbian populations of D. subobscura. We found that inversion-related changes in chromosomal polymorphisms depended on the season of the year and in the long term (10-15 year periods) they followed what we would expect given global warming. Therefore, chromosomal inversions in this species are good indicators of climate change and can help us to study how organisms adapt to it. 

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Author Biographies

Francesc Mestres Naval, University of Barcelona (Spain).

Tenured University Lecturer at the Department of Genetics of the University of Barcelona (Spain).

Goran Zivanovic, Siniša Stankovi? Institute for Biological Research at the University of Belgrade (Serbia).

Senior Research Associate at the Department of Genetics at the Siniša Stankovi? Institute for Biological Research at the University of Belgrade (Serbia).

Conxita Arenas Sola, University of Barcelona (Spain).

Tenured University Lecturer at the Department of Statistics of the University of Barcelona (Spain).

References

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Published

2016-04-15

How to Cite

Mestres Naval, F., Zivanovic, G., & Arenas Sola, C. (2016). How do organisms adapt to climate change? Chromosomal inversions in ’Drosophila subobscura’: The case of Serbian populations. Metode Science Studies Journal, (6), 46–53. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.6.4042
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