Abstract
GENETIC loads consist of deleterious genes or gene complexes mostly recessive and concealed in the heterozygous state. The heterozygous individuals found in natural populations are usually superior in fitness to inbred progenies, which are made in part homozygous. This superiority is manifested in two ways: (a) the heterozygous combinations have a higher average in most components of the Darwinian fitness; (b) their phenotypic variability tends to be lower, because of the better buffering ability against environmental fluctuations1.
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MARINKOVIC, D., WATTIAUX, J. Genetic Loads affecting Longevity in Natural Populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Nature 216, 170–171 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216170a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/216170a0
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