ALLELE COMPLEMENTATION A test of whether a wild-type phenotype can be restored with two given alleles in a diploid genome.
CO-ADAPTATION Selection by which harmoniously interacting genes accumulate in the gene pool of a population.
CONTACT PHEROMONES Chemical signals that are transmitted through the direct physical contact of two individuals. Contact pheromones in Drosophila are often sexual signals.
DEFICIENCY MAPPING Uses chromosomes that have different sections deleted to locate the position of a gene of interest. Without the deficiency, the normal functional gene usually masks the effect of (that is, complements) the defective or foreign copy that we wish to identify.
INCIPIENT SPECIATION The initial stage of species formation during which reproductive isolation is only partial.
INTROGRESSION The integration of a genomic region from one species into the genome of another species. Even a few percent of the introgressed genome can lead to hybrid incompatibility.
KA/KS RATIOS Ratios of non-synonymous substitutions to synonymous substitutions per site.
MATERNAL EFFECT The effect of the maternal genotype on the phenotype of the offspring, or the zygotes, usually at the embryonic stage (see also zygotic effects).
MCDONALD AND KREITMAN TEST A test that contrasts interspecific divergence against intraspecific polymorphism. It is a powerful test to detect excess of non-synonymous substitutions between species.
NEO-DARWINIAN (SYNTHESIS) The modern theory of evolution that combines both natural selection and population genetics, in which the Darwinian concept of spontaneous variation is explained in terms of mutation and genetic recombination.
ONCOGENE A gene that induces uncontrolled cell proliferation.
POSITIONAL CLONING The procedure by which we identify and isolate genes on the basis of their location in the genome, involving detailed genetic and physical maps of chromosomes.
RECEPTOR TYROSINE KINASE SUPERFAMILY One of the important cell-surface receptors that interacts with water-soluble ligands.
ZYGOTIC EFFECT The effect of the zygotes' own genotype on their own phenotype.
