Electrophoretic Analysis Of Genetic Variability In Carrionbreeding Blow Fly Chrysomya Megacephala Fabricius

Abstract

Electrophoretically detectable genetic variation of five enzyme systems was analyzed in laboratory colonies of blow fly Chrysomya megacephala using Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). A sample of 50 individuals was analyzed for ten allozymic loci (LDH-1, APH-1, APH-2, APH-3, ACPH-1, ACPH-2, ME-1, ME-2, XDH-1 and XDH-2). Four of them were polymorphic (LDH-1, APH-2, APH-3, and ACPH-2). Among them the LDH-1 locus did not show statistically significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, whereas, the remaining polymorphic loci APH-2, APH-3 and ACPH-2 presented deficiency of heterozygotes, possibly due to inbreeding. The estimates of genetic variation with respect to mean heterozygosity, polymorphism and mean number of alleles per locus were found to be in the range described for carrion-breeding as well as non carrion-breeding Dipterans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first estimate of genetic variation based on allozyme studies in the blow fly C.megacephala.