ISSN:
0192-253X
Keywords:
ecdysteroid
;
prothoracic gland
;
temperature sensitive
;
Drosophila
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Genetics
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
The dominant temperature-sensitive mutation L(3)3DTS (DTS-3) in Drosophila melanogaster causes lethality of heterozygotes during the third larval instar at the restrictive temperature (29°C). Temperature-shift experiments revealed two distinct temperature-sensitive periods, with lethal phases during the third larval instar (which may persist for 4 weeks) and during the late pupal stage. At 29°C mutant imaginal discs are unable to evert in situ, but did evert normally if cultured in the presence of exogenous ecdysterone or when implanted into wild-type larval hosts. The only morphologically abnormal tissue present in the lethal larvae is the ring gland, the prothoracic gland being greatly hypertrophied in third instar DTS-3 larvae. Injection of a single wild-type ring gland rescued these mutant larvae, indicating that the mutant gland is functionally, as well as morphologically, abnormal. Finally, the mutant larvae were shown to have less than 10% of the wild-type ecdysteroid levels. These results are all consistent with a proposed lesion in ecdysteroid hormone production in DTS-3 larvae. A comparison with the phenotypes of other “ecdysone-less” mutants is presented.
Additional Material:
2 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dvg.1020060302
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