VARIATION IN ALCOHOL-DEHYDROGENASE ACTIVITY INVITRO IN FLIES FROM NATURAL-POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER

Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity variation in male flies taken directly from 7 natural populations of D. melanogaster is largely accounted for by segregation of alleles at the Adh structural gene locus. There was little overlap in the ADH activities of AdhF and AdhS homozygotes. Body wt varied only slightly between Adh genotypes and contributed little to ADH variation. Between and within population variation in ADH activity and ADH protein in flies in the wild is mainly due to the relative frequencies of AdhF and AdhS.