Evolution of Persistent Polymorphism -- Spectrum of Differences in Gene Sequence, Function, and Fitness

遗传变异广泛存在于许多不同的生物中，有时会持续很长一段时间，形成生物体适应环境能力的持久部分。持续变异与短暂变异的区别是什么？一个昆虫研究系统将被用来研究一个持续的情况下，影响细胞的“机器”的能量处理共同的所有生物。 这种变异的化学和遗传效应如何与自然环境相互作用以维持变异，以及变异系统如何随着携带它的物种适应新的栖息地而演变？我们希望，管理进化变化的一般规则将会出现。 这些结果及其意义将对人类社会关注的问题提供重要的启示。例如，在家畜作物动物和植物中的能量处理机制并不比这些测试昆虫中的变量少。许多作物品种的寿命更长，比测试系统更难用于适应性原则的初步研究。但有充分的理由相信，其结果将适用于这些作物品种，并将有助于选择性育种，以最大限度地提高粮食产量在不断变化的农业环境。同样，这项工作将以同样的方式为保护稀有物种和一般环境管理的遗传方面提供信息。

Inheritable variation occurs widely in many different creatures, sometimes over long time periods, forming a persistent part of the organisms' abilities to adapt to their environments. What distinguishes persistent variation from transitory cases? An insect study system will be used to study a persistent case affecting the cellular "machinery" of energy processing common to all living things. How do the chemical and genetic effects of this variation interact with natural environments to maintain the variation, and how the system of variation has evolved as species carrying it have adapted to new habitats? Hopefully, general rules governing evolutionary change will emerge. These results and their implications will shed important light on problems of concern to human society. For example, energy processing mechanisms in domestic crop animals and plants are no less variable than in these test insects. Many crop species have longer lives and are harder to use for initial study of adaptive principles than the test system. But there is good reason to believe that its results will apply to such crop species, and will assist in selective breeding to maximize food yield in changing agricultural environments. Equally, genetic aspects of conservation of rare species, and of environmental management in general, will be informed by this work in the same ways.