Patterns of variation within and between Greek populations of Ceratitis capitata suggest extensive gene flow and latitudinal clines.

Abstract

Four natural Greek populations of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), was studied for genetic variability at 25 enzyme loci. The comparison of polymorphism within and between populations shows two loci with high between-population heterozygosity (HT) and very high fixation index (F(ST)) values, suggesting the presence of balancing selection. The gradual decline of common allele frequency of the polymorphic loci tested indicated that latitudinal clines are present in Greece. Indirect estimates of gene flow based both on Wright's method (Nm*) and on the Slatkin's method (Nm*), which depends on the frequencies of rare alleles found in only one population, revealed a substantial amount of gene flow (Nm = 3.493 and Nm* = 3.197). These estimates of gene flow may well explain why the "introduced" Greek populations of C. capitata, in spite of their low genetic variability, display the same polymorphic loci. Gene flow in combination with natural selection and genetic drift may have played an important role to genetic differentiation in this species in Greece.