The number of genes on the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster and a comment on the genetic structure of eukaryotes.

Recessive lethals on the second chromosome were extracted from genetically isolated populations in Australia and the U.K. The frequency of allelism, used in a manner analogous to capture-recapture of animal populations, indicated that the number of genes capable of mutating to lethal had a 95 per cent probability of being in the range 247 to 1140, although excluding possible heterotic and synthetic lethals altered this to 309 to 3568. Possible sources of bias are discussed. The disagreement between these values and those obtained the direct measurements of DNA (more than 10 times greater) is clear. It is suggested that many of the genes of eukaryotes have been duplicated by unequal exchange during recombination and occur in functionally related groups or in supergenes. Some consequences of this hypothesis to population genetics are noted.