Department of Biology, Berry College, 430 Mount Berry Station, 30149, Mount Berry, GA, USA.
Ecotoxicology. 1993 Sep;2(3):185-95. doi: 10.1007/BF00116423.
: Fluctuating asymmetry has been proposed as a general and sensitive indicator of developmental instability. Although there have been many field studies of fluctuating asymmetry in populations exposed to toxic chemicals, there have been few laboratory studies. To test the hypothesis that stress from toxic chemicals causes an increase in fluctuating asymmetry, we exposed larval Drosophila melanogaster to six concentrations of lead and benzene in their food. Lead and benzene caused neither a significant reduction in the number of emerging adult flies, nor a significant difference in the average number of sternopleural bristles. Flies exposed to lead at 10mg kg(-1) and benzene at 1000 mg kg(-1), however, showed increased fluctuating asymmetry of sternopleural bristles. Higher concentrations (10,000 mg kg(-1)) of benzene caused a transition from fluctuating asymmetry to directional asymmetry. Flies exposed to benzene at 10,000 mg kg(-1) also eclosed more than a day earlier than flies exposed to it at 0-1,000 mg kg(-1).
波动性不对称已被提议作为发育不稳定的一般和敏感指标。尽管已经有许多关于暴露于有毒化学物质的人群中波动性不对称的现场研究，但实验室研究却很少。为了检验有毒化学物质的压力导致波动性不对称增加的假设，我们在幼虫黑腹果蝇的食物中暴露于六种浓度的铅和苯。铅和苯既没有导致出现的成年果蝇数量显著减少，也没有导致胸骨刺毛的平均数量出现显著差异。然而，暴露于 10mg kg(-1)的铅和 1000mg kg(-1)的苯的果蝇表现出胸骨刺毛波动性不对称增加。更高浓度（10,000mg kg(-1)）的苯导致波动性不对称向定向不对称的转变。暴露于 10,000mg kg(-1)的苯的果蝇也比暴露于 0-1,000mg kg(-1)的苯的果蝇早一天多羽化。
