The gypsy moth ( Lymatria dispar ) is found in Africa and across Eurasia. It was
ID: 175980 • Letter: T
Question
The gypsy moth (Lymatria dispar) is found in Africa and across Eurasia. It was introduced to North America (Massachusetts) in 1869 and has since spread over a large area in the eastern US and Canada. More recently gypsy moths have been showing up at spots along the west coast.
Part A
You measure allele frequencies for a small sample of gypsy moths trapped near Seattle, Washington and compare them to samples from other popualtions. You get the following FST distances between your sample and the following popualtions.
Origin FST
France 0.24
Germany 0.28
Japan 0.17
Maine 0.28
Ohio 0.37
Siberia 0.09
Which popualtion has the most similar allele frequencies to the moths sampled near Seattle?
A. Germany
B.Ohio
C.Maine
D.Japan
E.Siberia
F. France
Please give me the correct answer
Explanation / Answer
FST is also known as Fixation Index, it is a measure of population differentiation due to genetic structure. It ranges from 0-1. Where 0 means there is complete panmixis-i.e there is complete sharing of genetic material where as 1 means there is no sharing. For values =1 scientists say that the population is fixed, i.e. they do not share any allele with one another, i.e. there is no inter breeding.
According to this, the answer will be 0.09 as itis nearest to 0 and it shows that the allele frequency is similar to that of Seattle moths and that they are breeding.
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