Selection components in background replacement lines of Drosophila

Selection components analysis was performed in lines of Drosophila melanogaster at three times during substitution backcrossing. The initial two lines were inbred isofemale lines from natural populations in California, and one had the spread wing mutation eagle. The selection components analysis revealed aspects of the genetic structure of the determinants of fitness by demonstrating changes in the marginal fitnesses of the eagle locus. Differences among backgrounds essentially disappeared by the 20th generation of backcrossing, suggesting that the previously observed differences were attributable to linkage disequilibrium. The method of bootstrapping was used as a novel means of determining statistical confidence in selection components.