Genetic variation in wild Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), from Kenya

The electrophoretic variation of eight enzymes - β-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase (β-HAD); 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD); phosphoglucomutase (PGM); aldehyde oxidase (AO); malate dehydrogenase (MDH); alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH); α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (α-GPDH); and glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) - was studied in Kenyan strains of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). The medflies were collected from ripe coffee berries in eight localities in the country. The berries were kept in paper cartons lined with sawdust in the insectary, and pupae were routinely recovered over a period of 14 days. Adults emerged in cages within the next 14 days, upon which they were used for gel electrophoresis. The Mdh locus was monomorphic, while only two alleles per locus were detected at the Ao, Adh, α-Gpdh and Got loci. Four different alleles were identified at the Pgm locus, six at the 6-Pgd locus, and seven at the β-Had locus. In addition, null β-Had and 6-Pgd heterozygotes were present in specimens from Kabete and Machakos. The mean heterozygosities for the two adequately sampled localities, Kabete and Machakos, were 0.143 and 0.100 respectively. The allele frequencies at the various loci were in agreement with Hardy-Weinberg expectations, except the β-Had locus in the Kabete population, where a significant deviation was observed. (author). 10 refs, 4 tabs