Inversion polymorphism in some natural populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura from central Mexico

Samples of D. pseudoobscura were taken in seventeen localities in Central Mexico inside the parallels 18o - 20o N, with the purpose of determine the chromosomal polymorphism in the third of the different populations of this species. From each captured female a single larva of its offspring was taken, its salivary glands extracted and stained with a solution of aceto orcein to observe the polytene chromosomes. From these smears the corresponding karyotype of each larva was determined, keeping a record of them. With the information gathered the relative frequency of each one of the fourteen different inversions found was calculated. A grand total of 1894 third chromosomes were analyzed. The fourteen different inversions found are equivalent to a 34.1 % of the total chromosomal variation of the species. The most abundant inversions found were: TL 50.6 %, CU 27.2 5, SC 9.1 % and EP 5.5 %; the remaining ten inversions detected are in general grounds rare ones with variable relative frequencies depending on the locality. Analysis of the predominant inversions for each population was done. The presence of West-East gradients is reported, even if in cases not so well defined, since as one moves in a particular direction the ups and downs in relative frequency for the alternating pairs TL-CU; TL-SC in the western populations and TL-CU in the eastern ones were observed. The assignment of each population to a particular race was also done, and such a way we were able to recognize three different races coexisting in the area of study.