Accumulation of drastic mutants in selection lines for resistance to the insecticides dichlorvos and malathion in Drosophila melanogaster

Viability tests were performed on second and third chromosomes from lines of Drosophila melanogaster selected for increased resistance to the organophosphorus insecticides dichlorvos and malathion, in order to evaluate the accumulation of drastic alleles. Our results show that malathion reduces significantly the relative viability of chromosome 3 and also increases the frequency of drastic alleles in this chromosome, while dichlorvos increases significnatly the frequency of drastic alleles in chromosome 2. © 1987 Birkhäuser Verlag.