GENOTYPES OF MULTIPLE ALLOZYME LOCI INTER-ACT WITH AN EXPERIMENTAL ENVIRONMENT TO AFFECT GROWTH IN JUVENILE EARTHWORMS (EISENIA FETIDA ANDREI)

摘要

Biweekly growth and genotypes at seven polymorphic allozyme loci were measured for juvenile Eisenia fetida andrei raised in all combinations of three soil moistures and four temperatures for 10 weeks (n = 1062). There was a significant interaction (P < 0.05) between genotype and the environment that affected growth (repeated measures ANOVA) at six of these loci after the effect of environment alone was taken into account. Genotype X environment interactions' for each locus were evaluated by computing the relative growth of each genotype (mean growth of the genotype divided by the maximal mean growth among genotypes) within each environment. For three of six loci, the mean relative growth of the heterozygous genotype among environments was greater than that of the homozygous genotypes. The difference in relative growth among genotypes and environments may be sufficient to maintain polymorphisms of some allozyme loci in earthworms that experience environmental heterogeneity if each combination of environments is inhabited equally and if relative growth is a good predictor of fitness. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc. [References: 38]