Data from: The adaptive significance of chromosomal inversion polymorphisms in Drosophila melanogaster

Chromosomal inversions, structural mutations that reverse a segment of a chromosome, cause suppression of recombination in the heterozygous state. Several studies have shown that inversion polymorphisms can form clines or fluctuate predictably in frequency over seasonal time spans. These observations prompted the hypothesis that chromosomal rearrangements might be subject to spatially and/or temporally varying selection. Here we review what has been learned about the adaptive significance of inversion polymorphisms in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster, the species in which they were first discovered by Sturtevant in 1917. A large body of work provides compelling evidence that several inversions in this system are adaptive; however, the precise selective mechanisms that maintain them polymorphic in natural populations remain poorly understood. Recent advances in population genomics, modeling and functional genetics promise to greatly improve our understanding of this longstanding and fundamental problem in the near future.染色体倒位（chromosomal inversions）是一类可将染色体片段反转的结构突变，会在杂合状态下抑制重组。多项研究表明，倒位多态性（inversion polymorphisms）可形成渐变群（cline），或在季节性时间尺度上发生可预测的频率波动。上述观测结果催生了如下假说：染色体重排（chromosomal rearrangements）可能受到空间和/或时间异质性选择的作用。本文综述了黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster，俗称醋蝇）的倒位多态性适应性意义的相关研究进展——该物种正是1917年由Sturtevant首次发现染色体倒位的模式生物。大量研究已为该体系中的多个倒位具有适应性提供了极具说服力的证据；然而，维持这些倒位在自然种群中保持多态性的精确选择机制，目前仍知之甚少。近年来，种群基因组学（population genomics）、建模与功能遗传学（functional genetics）领域的最新进展，有望在不久的将来大幅提升我们对这一长期存在的基础性科学问题的认知。