POLYMORPHISM OF NATURAL-POPULATIONS OF DR OSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER FOR LEVEL OF JUVENILE-HORMONE METABOLISM AND FOR RESPONSE TO HEAT-SHOCK

The juvenile hormone metabolism in Drosophila melanogaster females fro m the laboratory line Canton S and from two natural populations of the Altaiskii krai was studied under normal conditions and under heat sho ck. The Canton S females were shown to have a high level of juvenile h ormone and responded to heat shock by decreasing it. The natural popul ations were polymorphic for this trait. In both populations examined, flies with a low level of the hormone occurred at high frequencies (56 and 64%). The natural populations were also polymorphic for response of the system of juvenile hormone metabolism to heat shock: flies with a low level of the hormone did not respond to stress by decreasing it .