Author(s): W. Zahran, A.B. Shahin, H. Schneider, M. Gabri and M. Soliman
Article publication date: 1996-04-01
Vol. 14 No. 1 (yearly), pp. 177-204.
141
Keywords
protein, taxonomy, Egypt
Abstract
Genetic variation among natural populations of Scincus scincus was demonstrated according to the electrophoretic analysis of 27 enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins encoded by 40 structural gene loci. With respect to polymorphism and heterozygosity, the populations were moderately variable compared with other genera of skinks. The populations were polymorphic for only 7 loci and the overall mean proportions of polymorphic loci (P) and heterozygosity (H) were 7% and 3%. The mean values of the coefficients of genetic distance (D) and similarity (S) were 0.032 and 0.968. Significant geographic heterogeneity in allelic and genotypic frequencies was observed at several polymorphic loci over all populations. Factors affecting this heterogeneity are genetic drift, diversifying selection and mating behaviors.