Abstract
Polygenic modifiers of the L4 and L5 wing veins in Drosophila simulans were used to study the degree of genetic independence of veins within the same developmental compartment. The L4 and L5 were selected for opposite changes in length. Whole-chromosome assays of heterozygous effects showed that the L4 and L5 polygenic modifiers were associated with differences both in chromosomes and in interchromosomal interactions. A comparison of selection responses confirmed that, though some modifiers had strictly vein-specific action, others acted either upon all veins within the posterior compartment or upon all veins in the wing. The results support the idea that some genes control pattern formation in the wing as a whole, others regulate structures within a single compartment, and still others are limited to a single element within a compartment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bryant, P. J., 1978. Pattern formation in imaginal dises. In: The genetics and biology of Drosophila, Vol. 2c (M.Ashburner and T. R. F.Wright, eds), pp. 229–335. Academic Press, London.
Crick, F. H. C. & Lawrence, P. A., 1975. Compartments and polyclones in insect development. Science 189: 340–347.
Falconer, D., 1960. Introduction to quantitative genetics. Oliver & Boyd, London.
Fisher, R. A. & Yates, F., 1957. Statistical tables for biological, agricultural, and medical research. Oliver & Boyd, London.
Garcia-Bellido, A., Ripoll, P. & Morata, G., 1973. Developmental compartmentalization of the wing disk of Drosophila. Nature New Biol. 245: 251–253.
Lawrence, P. A., 1973. The development of spatial pattern in the integument of insects. In: Development systems: insects, Vol. 2 (S. J.Counce & C. H.Waddington, eds), pp. 157–209. Academic Press, New York.
Lindsley, D. L. & Grell, E. H., 1968. Genetic variations of Drosophila melanogaster. Publs Carnegie Instn 627.
Postlethwalt, J. H., 1978. Clonal analysis of Drosophila cuticular patterns. In: The genetics and biology of Drosophila, Vol. 2c (M.Ashburner and T. R. F.Wright, eds), pp. 359–441. Academic Press, London.
Stern, C., 1968. Genetic mosaics and other essays. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Thompson, J. N.jr., 1973. General and specific effects of modifiers of mutant expression. Genet. Res. Camb. 22: 211–215.
Thompson, J. N.jr., 1974a. Studies on the nature and function of polygenic loci in Drosophila. I. Comparison of genomes from selection lines. Heredity 33: 373–387.
Thompson, J. N.jr., 1974b. Studies on the nature and function of polygenic loci in Drosophila. II. The subthreshold wing vein pattern revealed in selection experiments. Heredity 33: 389–401.
Thompson, J. N.jr., 1975. Studies on the nature and function of polygenic loci in Drosophila. III. Veinlet modifiers having region-specific effects upon the vein pattern. Genetics 81: 387–402.
Thompson, J. N.jr., 1979. Polygenic influences upon development in a model character. In: Guantitative genetic variation (J. N.Thompsonjr. & J. M.Thoday, eds), pp. 243–261. Academic Press, New York.
Thompson, J. N.jr., Toney, J. V. & Schaefer, G. B., 1980. Pattern compensation in Drosophila wing vein development. Heredity 44: 93–102.
Tokunaga, C., 1978. Genetic mosaic studies of pattern formation in Drosophila melanogaster: with special reference to the prepattern hypothesis. In: Genetic mosaics and cell differentiation (W. J.Gehring, ed.), pp. 157–204. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Wolpert, L., 1969. Positional information and the spatial pattern of cellular differentiation. J. theoret. Biol. 25: 1–47.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, J.N., Woodruff, R.C. Polygenic analysis of pattern formation: Interdependence among veins in the same compartment of the Drosophila wing. Genetica 60, 71–76 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121460
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121460