THE GENETIC BASIS OF DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY IN<i>APIS MELLIFERA:</i>HETEROZYGOSITY VERSUS GENIC BALANCE

Abstract

The genetic basis for developmental stability in the haplo-diploid honeybee Apis mellifera was determined by comparing the level of asymmetry between diploid females and haploid males both among and within inbreeding levels. There was no significant relationship between the level of inbreeding and the level of fluctuating asymmetry for both females and males. It is therefore argued that the general level of genomic heterozygosity is not an important factor for the determination and maintenance of developmental stability in this system, but rather that the balance of genes within chromosomes plays the major role. The observation that males were generally more asymmetric than females suggests that developmental stability in females may also be influenced by additional factors such as gene dosage, sex-limited genes or cytoplasmic elements.