Summary
Techniques for demonstrating allozymic variation in seven enzymes (four esterases, isocitrate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, and malate dehydrogenase) were employed to study genie variation in a narrow zone of hybridisation between allopatric semispecies of the house mouse (Mus musculus musculus and M. m. domesticus) on the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark. Material consisted of 2696 mice collected at 152 farms representing 44 sample areas on the peninsula and adjacent islands. The history of movements of early farming cultures with which mice were associated as commensals suggests that musculus and domesticus have been in contact and hybridising in northern Europe since 3000 B.C. The zone in Jutland and another in Germany lie in regions transitional between Atlantic and continental climates, the two parental forms meeting where they are equally well adapted to ecological conditions.
The zone in Jutland has not shifted since Ursin defined its position in 1952 on the basis of morphological characters. An analysis of genotypic proportions in populations in the zone of hybridisation failed to demonstrate assortative mating, thus supporting laboratory evidence of free interbreeding between the semispecies. Genie heterozygosity levels are “ normal “ on the large islands of Falster, Fyn, and Als but reduced on the small islands of Airø and Hjaelm, presumably through the founder effect or genetic drift. The zone is strongly asymmetrical north to south, with extensive introgression of domesticus alleles into musculus, but little introgression in the other direction. A marked increase in width of the zone in western Jutland is associated with a more extensive gradient of environmental factors, particularly precipitation. In the narrow eastern part of the zone, 90 per cent of the transition in genetic character (as measured by a hybrid index) occurs over a distance of 20 km. The extent of introgression varies markedly among loci. Linkage between the loci studied is not a major factor affecting patterns of introgression. The extreme steepness of the gradient of transition in genetic character and the occurrence of major changes in frequencies at all loci along the same line are cited as evidence that the selective values of alleles are determined in part by the internal genetic environment. The “new” genetic environment created by introgression of domesticus alleles into musculus populations apparently favours the occurrence of minor alleles at the Es-2 and Es-3 loci. The failure of the musculus and domesticus gene pools to fuse despite long-standing hybridisation argues that genetic isolation cannot be equated with reproductive isolation. Selection against introgression of the genes studied (or the chromosomal segments that they mark) is presumed to involve reduced fitness in backcross generations caused by disruption of co-adapted parental gene complexes.
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Grainger Hunt, W., Selander, R. Biochemical genetics of hybridisation in european house mice. Heredity 31, 11–33 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.56
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.56
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