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Published Online August 31, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1131002

Reports

Submitted on June 7, 2006
Accepted on July 20, 2006

Global Genetic Change Tracks Global Climate Warming in Drosophila subobscura

Joan Balanyá 1*, Josep M. Oller 2, Raymond B. Huey 3, George W. Gilchrist 4, Luis Serra 1

1 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08071, Spain.
2 Department of Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08071, Spain.
3 Department of Biology, Box 351800, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1800, USA.
4 Department of Biology, Box 8795, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8796, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Joan Balanyá , E-mail: jbalanya{at}ub.edu

Comparisons of recent with historical samples of chromosome inversion frequencies provide opportunities to determine whether genetic change is tracking climate change in natural populations. We determined the magnitude and direction of shifts over time (24 years between samples on average) in chromosome inversion frequencies and in ambient temperature for populations of the fly Drosophila subobscura on three continents. In 22 of 26 populations, climates warmed over the intervals, and genotypes characteristic of low latitudes (warm climates) increased in frequency in 21 of those 22 populations. Thus, genetic change in this fly is tracking climate warming, and is doing so globally.


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Comment on "Global Genetic Change Tracks Global Climate Warming in Drosophila subobscura".
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)