Genetic variability maintained in a finite population due to mutational production of neutral and nearly neutral isoalleles

1. The average and the effective numbers of alleles maintained in a finite population due to mutational production of neutral isoalleles were studied by mathematical analysis and computer simulation.

2. The exact formula was derived for the effective number (ne) of alleles maintained in a population of effective sizeNe, assuming that there areKpossible allelic states and mutation occurs with equal frequency in all directions. If the number of allelic states is so large that every mutation is to a new, not pre-existing, allele, we havene= 4Neu+1 − 2Neu2, whereuis the mutation rate. Thus, the approximation formula,ne= 4Neu+1, given by Kimura & Crow (1964) is valid as long as 2Neu2≪ 1.

3. The formula for the average number of alleles (na) maintained in a population of actual sizeNand effective sizeNewas derived by using the method of diffusion approximation. If every mutation is to a new, not pre-existing, allele, we obtain

whereM= 4Neu. The average number of alleles as a function ofMandNis listed in Table 1.

4. In order to check the validity of the diffusion approximations, Monte Carlo experiments were carried out using the computer IBM 7090. The experiments showed that the approximations are satisfactory for practical purposes.

5. It is estimated that among the mutations produced by DNA base substitutions, synonymous mutations, that is, those which cause no alterations of amino acids, amount roughly to 0·2–0·3 in vertebrates.Incompletely synonymous mutations, that is, those which lead to substitution of chemically similar amino acids at a different position of the polypeptide chain from the active site and therefore produce almost no phenotypic effects, must be very common. Together with synonymous mutations, they might constitute at least some 40% of all mutations. These considerations suggest that neutral and nearly neutral mutations must be more common than previously considered.

Drug-sensitivity of El Tor vibrio strains isolated in the Philippines in 1964 and 1965

About 1500 strains of El Tor vibrios, isolated in 1964 and 1965 in the Philippines, were examined for their susceptibilities to 17 drugs. All the strains tested were highly sensitive to dihydroxymethyl-furalazine, and most were highly sensitive to tetracycline hydrochloride, chloramphenicol and erythromycin, and moderately sensitive to novobiocin, dihydrostreptomycin sulfate, kanamycin and neomycin. They showed a remarkable fluctuation of sensitivity to ampicillin, cefaloridine, cefalotin and sulfafurazole, and a high resistance to benzylpenicillin sodium, oleandomycin and spiramycin.Experimental confirmation was provided of the fact that El Tor vibrios and non-agglutinable vibrios can be distinguished from classical cholera vibrios by their resistance to polymyxin B and colistin.Highly streptomycin-resistant strains, and to a lesser extent ampicillin- and sulfafurazole-resistant strains, were relatively often isolated from cholera patients who had been treated with antibiotics. One patient yielded a strain resistant to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, streptomycin and sulfafurazole.