Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T01:18:49.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Experiments with the maroon-like mutation of Drosophila melanogaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2009

Moti Nissani
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.
Chih-Ping Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Cell lineage analysis of the maroon-like mutation of Drosophila melanogaster revealed the most extensive degree of non-autonomy reported to date in Drosophila: all 1454 gynandromorphs in which X chromosome loss uncovered the ma-l mutation had ma-l+. eye colour. In contrast, among 331 gynandromorphs in which X chromosome loss simultaneously uncovered the vermilion and maroon-like mutations, approximately 16% had v phenotype but with one possible exception all gynandromorphs again had ma-l+ eye colour. These results suggest that very small amounts of the ma-l+ gene product are necessary for wild-type eye colour development and they are therefore compatible with the one cistron–allelic complementation model that has been proposed for the ma-l locus. They also provide the best estimate available to date of In(1)wvc-induced internal mosaicism: 7%. A preliminary attempt to detect DNA-induced transformants among 6 DNA-injected preblastoderm ma-l embryos and at least 80000 of their F1 to F4 descendants has yielded completely negative results. An investigation of the maternal effect which ma-l+ mothers exert on the eye colour of their genetically ma-l offspring revealed that, in contrast to earlier observations, this effect is not universal: some phenotypically ma-l and intermediate ma-l flies were observed in young cultures. The discrepancy between this and earner observations is probably attributable to as yet uncharacterized nutritional deficiencies in the diet of flies used in this experiment. Cytoplasm drawn from blastoderm ma-l+ embryos and injected into the posterior region of ma-l preblastoderm embryos failed to induce eye-colour alterations in all seven flies which survived the treatment. Injection of the contents of embryos of certain genotypes and developmental stages into ma-l pupae 24–48 h old did alter in some instances the eye colour of treated ma-l flies. Various tests strongly suggest that these alterations are not due to injection of a substance that has been stored in the egg during oogensis or that has been produced by the embryo itself prior to injection and they therefore preclude the possibility that a simple in vivo bioassay for the ma-l+ substance has been achieved. Rather, they indicate that the observed eye-colour alterations are due to transplantation of blastoderm-stage embryos which remain active long enough within ma-l hosts to produce and release a substance into the hosts' haemolymph and that this substance in turn induces phenotypic alterations in the hosts' eye colour. When v and ma-l eye colour changes are simultaneously monitored, it appears that injection of embryonic contents into pupae is equally or more effective in modifying the v phenotype than in modifying the ma-l phenotype. Based on these observations, a tentative hypothesis regarding the time of activation of the ma-l+ gene and the relationship between the immediate product of this gene, the maternal substance stored in the egg and the substance released by tissue transplants is proposed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

References

REFERENCES

Beadle, G. W. (1973). Development of eye colours in Drosophila: fat bodies and Malphigian tubes in relation to diffusible substances. Genetics 22, 587611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, H. J. (1957). Über Röntgenmosaikfleeken und Defektmutationen am Auge von Drosophila und die Entwicklungsphysiologie des Auges. Zeitschrift für Induktive Abstammungsund Vererbungslehre 88, 333373.Google Scholar
Bownes, M. (1975). A photographic study of development in the living embryo of Drosophila melanogaster. Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology 33, 789801.Google ScholarPubMed
Chan, L.-N. & Gehring, W. (1971). Determination of blastoderm cells in Drosophila melanogaster. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. 68, 22172221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chovnick, A. (1968). Generation of a series of Y chromosomes carrying the v + region of the X. Drosophila Information Service 43, 170.Google Scholar
Chovnick, A. & Sang, J. H. (1968). The effects of nutritional deficiencies on the maroon-like maternal effect in Drosophila. Genetical Research 11, 5161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Courtright, J. B. (1976). Drosophila gene-enzyme systems. Advances in Genetics 18, 249314.Google Scholar
Dickinson, W. J. & Sullivan, D. T. (1975). Gene-Enzyme Systems in Drosophila. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Ephrussi, B. (1942). Chemistry of ‘eye color hormones’ of Drosophila. Quarterly Review of Biology 17, 327353.Google Scholar
Finnerty, V. (1976). Genetic units of Drosophila – simple cistrons. In The Genetics and Biology of Drosophila, vol. 16 (ed. Ashburner, M. and Novitski, E.), pp. 721765. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Fox, A. S. (1976). Gene transfer in Drosophila melanogaster. In Molecular Genetic Modification of Eucaryotes (ed. Rubinstein, I.). New York: Academic Press. (In the Press.)Google Scholar
Germaard, S. (1976). Genetic transformation in Drosophila by microinjection of DNA. Nature 262, 229231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gassman, E. (1957). Studies on maroon-like eye color mutant. Drosophila Information Service 31, 121122.Google Scholar
Glassman, E. (1965). Genetic regulation of xanthine dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster. Federation Proceedings 24, 12431251.Google ScholarPubMed
Glassman, E. & Mitchell, H. K. (1959). Mutants of Drosophila melanogaster deficient in xanthine dehydrogenase. Genetics 44, 153162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Graf, G. E. (1957). Biochemical predetermination in Drosophila. Experientia 13, 404405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hadorn, E., Hürlemann, R., Mindek, G., Schubiger, G. & Staub, M. (1968). Entwick-lungsleistungen embryonaler Blasteme von Drosophila nach Kultur im Adultwirt. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 75, 557569.Google Scholar
Hinton, C. W. (1955). The behaviour of an unstable ring chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 40, 951961.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hotta, Y. & Benzer, S. (1973). Mapping of behaviour in Drosophila mosaics. In Genetic Mechanisms of Development (ed. Ruddle, F. H.), pp. 126167. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Janning, W. (1974). Entwicklungsgenetische Untersuchungen an Gynandern von Drosophila melanogaster. II. Der morphogenetische Anlageplan. Wilhelm Roux' Archiv für Entwicklungsmechanik der Organismen 174, 349359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kankel, D. R. & Hall, J. C. (1976). Fate mapping of nervous system and other internal tissues in genetic mosaics of Drosophila melanogaster. Developmental Biology 48, 124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Limbourg-Bouchon, B. (1976). Injection of wild and mutant-type DNA into the eggs of v; bw mutant of Drosophila melanogaster. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadairesdes Séances de L'académie des Sciences D 283, 387389.Google Scholar
Lindsley, D. L. & Grell, E. H. (1968). Genetic Variations of Drosophila melanogaster. Carnegie Institute of Washington Publications, 627.Google Scholar
Linzen, B. (1974). The tryptophan→ommochrome pathway in insects. Advances in Insect Physiology 10, 117246.Google Scholar
Nissani, M. (1975). Cell lineage analysis of kynurenine producing organs in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetical Research 26, 6372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nissani, M. (1976). Gynandromorph analysis of some aspects of sexual behaviour of Drosophila melanogaster. Animal Behaviour (in the Press).Google Scholar
Okada, M., Kleinman, I. A. & Schneiderman, H. A. (1974). Restoration of fertility in sterilized Drosophila eggs by transplantation of polar cytoplasm. Developmental Biology 37, 4354.Google Scholar
Sayles, C. D., Browder, L. M. & Williamson, J. H. (1973). Expression of xanthine dehydrogenase activity during embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster. Developmental Biology 33, 213217.Google Scholar
Schubiger, M. & Schneiderman, H. A. (1971). Nuclear transplantation in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 230, 185186.Google Scholar
Wright, T. R. F. (1970). The genetics of embryogenesis in Drosophila. Advances in Genetics 15, 261395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed