P-M phenotypes and their correlation with longitude in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster from Turkey

We analyzed the P-M gonadal dysgenesis characteristics and the molecular patterns of P and KP elements of 35 populations from distinct locations of Turkey and Cyprus to find out P element dynamics in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. The results of Gonadal dysgenesis (GD) tests showed a predominat M' phenotype for this region. Besides Q populations were also found in less numbers. It was also noticed that there is a strong tendency for the presence of a Q type "buffer zone" in the Western part of Turkey. The variation in GD percentage (as a index for P element activity and susceptibility) observed among the populations did not show any clear relationship with some geoclimatic variables, but a significant correlation was found between longitude, and P element susceptibility. The P and KP element were also characterized by polymerase chain reaction amplification. The molecular analyses showed that all the populations examined have the entire of 1.15 kb KP element. The molecular patterns of KP elements have been found similar between the populations studied.