Summary
Selection was applied to anterior and posterior scutellar bristles separately and jointly in two populations, one of which straddled the 3/4 bristle threshold and the other the 4/5 bristle threshold. The object was to define the thresholds of the normally canalised 4 bristle phenotype in terms of the component anterior and posterior bristles. Changes in total bristle number (anteriors plus posteriors) at the 3/4 threshold is a function of addition or loss of bristles at the posterior site, whereas changes at the 4/5 threshold exclusively involve anterior bristles. It is concluded that the component anterior and posterior bristles are essentially independent.
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Scowcroft, W. Scutellar bristle components and canalisation in Drosophila melanogaster. Heredity 30, 289–301 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1973.39
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