ALBERT

Notes: Summary The nucleotide sequence ofDrosophila melanogaster 5S RNA has been determined and appears to be homogeneous both in the KC cell line and in the insect at different developmental stages. Experimental evidence on the conformation of this molecule is in agreement with a general class of 5S RNA models.

Notes: Summary In the male foreleg disk ofDrosophila melanogaster the cells capable of transdetermination are clustered in a specific region within the upper half of the disk. Cells outside this region cannot transdetermine under any of the experimental conditions thus far applied. Transdetermination occurs when cells capable of transdetermination are stimulated to a certain extent of additional proliferation. This can be achieved either by exposing these cells at a wound surface of an intact fragment, or by dissociation.

Notes: Summary Injection of α-ecdysone into the larval haemolymph of late third instar larvae ofD. virilis induces both the extrusion of secretory proteins and the inactivation of the enzyme glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate-aminotransferase (E.C. 2.6.16) in the salivary glands. In the presence of actinomycin D or cycloheximide the hormone is ineffective. If before adding these inhibitors RNA synthesis is allowed to proceed for 1.5h, or protein synthesis for 2h after ecdysone injection, however, the protein extrusion and the enzyme inactivation do occur. It is proposed that ecdysone controls these two cytoplasmic events at the transcriptional level by the activation of specific Correlations with puff activities are discussed.

Notes: Summary 1. The developmental potentials of dissociated cells of the different regions of the male foreleg disc ofDrosophila melanogaster were analysed. To this end, various amounts of foreleg disc material were dissociated together with an excess of heavily irradiated wing discs (“feeding layer”), and the reaggregates were cultured for 10 days in the abdomens of adult hosts prior to metamorphosis. 2. The foreleg disc cells were in most cases unable to regenerate missing structures in a circular direction within the leg segments. Instead they strongly tended to adopt the specifications of more distal leg segments (distal transformation), irrespective of the region of origin of the ancestor cells within the disc. 3. The distal transformation occurred mainly, if not exclusively, during an early phase (“initial phase”) in the reaggregates. 4. The extent of distal transformation was most pronounced in those series in which the foreleg cells were initially least diluted by the “feeding layer” cells. 5. Cells of the lower lateral quadrant were very poor both in proliferative activity and in the extent of distal transformation, compared to cells of the three remaining quadrants. In the experiments with a low initial dilution of the foreleg cells, cells of the lower medial quadrant underwent distal transformation much more distinctly than cells of the upper medial and the upper lateral quadrants. 6. Allotypic structures occurred exclusively in reaggregates of the upper medial and upper lateral quadrants. In these implants, however, the frequency of transdetermination was extremely high. 7. Two alternative mechanisms are discussed which could have led to the general occurrence of distal transformation. They differ in the basic assumption of whether or not the “feeding layer” cells were able to interact with the leg cells to influence their regulative behaviour. In addition, interactions among the leg cells themselves seemed to stimulate proliferation to varying degrees and may account for the observed differences in the degree of distal transformation.

Notes: Summary Three-hundred and twenty fertile,pal-induced Y-chromosome mosaic males and females were obtained. Fractional analysis of the sons of 55 somatically mosaic flies that were also germinally mosaic tentatively suggests that the number of functional primordial germ cells inDrosophila melanogaster is variable and that it is seldom greater than 24. From the observed 0.17 frequency of germinal mosaicism it was estimated that the average number of pole cells at the end of blastoderm formation is 45. At present, the germ cells afford the only opportunity to compare genetic estimates of the number of blastoderm or primordial cells with available histological counts. The good agreement between them suggests that both the fractional and the mosaic frequency methods for estimating primordial or blastoderm cell numbers of various larval and imaginal anatomical structures provide reasonably close approximations of the actual values.

Notes: Summary 1. Histological analyses were made of imaginal discs and histoblasts during the larval development ofDrosophila melanogaster to determine the number of cells, the patterns of cell division and the growth dynamics in these adult primordia. Histological studies were also made of the imaginal rings which are the primordia of the adult salivary gland, fore-and hindgut, the anlage cells of the midgut and several larval and embryonic tissues. 2. In the newly-hatched larva, the immature eye-antenna, wing, haltere, leg and genital discs contain about 70, 38, 20, 36–45 and 64 cells respectively. These numbers include cells destined to form cuticular elements as well as peripodial, tracheal and nerve cells and probably the progenitors of adepithelial cells. The number of cells counted in the various imaginal disc anlagen is 1.5 to 4 times higher than the numbers deduced from genetic mosaic analyses by other investigators and reasons for these differences are given. 3. About 12 h after fertilization, mitosis ceases in all tissues of the embryo except the nervous system. After the larva hatches, mitosis resumes in most of the imaginal anlagen and in some larval tissues. The time of resumption of mitosis in the imaginal anlagen was determined after treating the larvae with colchicine for 2 h. 4. Among the imaginal discs, the eye disc is the first to begin cell division, at about 13–15 h after the hatching of the larva (first instar) followed by the wing (15–17 h), the haltere (18–20 h), the antenna, leg, and genitalia (24–26 h, early second instar), and finally the labial and dorsal prothoracic discs (52–54 h, early third instar). The cell doubling time for various discs was calculated from cell counts and the times agree closely with the doubling times deduced from clonal analyses by other workers: e.g., 7.5 h for the cells of the wing disc. 5. The imaginal ring of the hindgut first shows cell division early in the second instar. The imaginal rings of the foregut and salivary glands, the anlage cells of the midgut and the cells of the segmental lateral tracheal branches begin to divide early in the third instar. 6. The histoblasts which are the anlagen of the integument of the adult abdomen do not increase in number from the time of larval hatching until about 5 h after pupation when they begin to divide. Their behaviour contrasts with that of the histoblasts of the other dipterans such asCalliphora, Musca andDacus, which begin to divide during the second instar. 7. The histoblasts are an integral part of the larval abdominal epidermis and, unlike imaginal disc cells, secrete cuticle during larval life. Each hemisegment consists of an anterior dorsal, a posterior dorsal, and a ventral histoblast nest containing about 13, 6 and 12 cells respectively. The 62 histoblasts in each larval segment represent about 7–8% of the total number of cells that form the integument of that segment. 8. The number of cells in a particular type of histoblast nest was constant for both male and female larvae and among the different abdominal segments, except that the anterior dorsal group of the first and the seventh segments contains fewer cells than those of the other segments. Although the male and female adultDrosophila lack the first abdominal sternite and the male lacks the seventh abdominal tergite and sternite, the ventral histoblast nests of the first and the dorsal and ventral nests of the seventh abdominal segments are present in the larval stages as well as in the prepupa and have the same morphology and cell number as similar nests in the rest of the abdominal segments. 9. The cells of the imaginal discs increase in volume about six-fold and their nuclei increase in volume three-fold between the time of hatching and the initiation of mitosis. The histoblasts increase in volume about 60-fold and their nuclei increase in volume about 25-fold between larval hatching and pupariation. 10. Prior to each cell division, the nuclei of the columnar cells of the disc epithelium and of the histoblasts appear to migrate toward the apical surface of the epithelium. The cells round up and shift toward the apical region where mitosis occurs. After cytokinesis, the daughter cells move back to deeper positions in the epithelium. Because the nuclei of the non-dividing cells continue to lie deep in the epithelium, this intermitotic migration of nuclei gives these epithelia a pseudostratified appearance. 11. Analyses of the growth of larval cells and of organs confirmed the observations of earlier investigators that cell division occurs only in a few larval tissues, whereas growth in the rest of the larval tissues is by cell enlargement and polyteny. During larval life, cell division was detected only in the central nervous system, gonads, prothoracic glands, lymph glands and haemocytes. Each tissue began mitosis at a characteristic stage in larval life. The larval cells that did not divide, grew enormously, e.g., epidermal cells increased in volume 150-fold and their nuclei increased in volume 80-fold. 12. The adepithelial cells, which give rise to some of the imaginal muscles, were first identified between the thick side of the imaginal dise epithelium and the basement membrane at the beginning of the third larval instar (50–52 h). The origin of these precursors of mesodermal structures was analysed and evidence is presented that the adepithelial cells come from the disc epithelium. The question of the origin of the mesoderm of cyclorrhaphan Diptera is reviewed and it is suggested that the imaginal disc ectoderm may become segregated from the rest of the embryo before gastrulation has occurred, that is before the mesoderm has been established.

Notes: Summary The present investigation analyzes intercellular junctions in tissues with different developmental capacities. The distribution of junctions was studied inDrosophila embryos, in imaginal disks, and in cultures of disk cells that were no longer able to differentiate any specific pattern of the adult epidermis. The first junctions —primitive desmosomes andclose membrane appositions — already appear in blastoderm.Gap junctions are first detected in early gastrulae and later become more and more frequent.Zonulae adhaerentes are formed around 6 h after fertilization, whileseptate junctions appear in the ectoderm of 10-h-old embryos. Inwing disks of all stages studied (22–120 h), three types of junctions are found: zonulae adhaereentes, gap junctions, and septate junctions. Gap junctions, which are rare and small at 22 h, increase in number and size during larval development. The other types of junctions are found between all cells of a wing disk throughout development. All types of junctions that are found in normal wing disks are also present in theimaginal disk tissues cultured in vivo for some 15 years and in thevesicles of imaginal disk cells grown in embryonic primary cultures in vitro. However, gap junctions are smaller and in the vesicles less frequent than in wing disks of mature larvae. Thus gap junctions, which allow small molecules to pass between the cells they connect, are present in the early embryo, when the first developmental decisions take place, and in all imaginal disk tissues studied, irrespective of whether or not these are capable of forming normal patterns.

Notes: Summary The lineages of cells on the second-leg basitarsus ofDrosophila melanogaster were analyzed by examining gynandromorphs andMinute mosaics. Bracts lie proximal to bristles on the adult basitarsus, yet bract precursor cells were found to originate lateral to bristle precursor cells. In 6 of the 8 longitudinal rows of bristles on this segment, the bract cells arise ventral to the bristle cells; in the others they arise dorsally. The lateral cell origins are interpreted as reflecting a pattern of lateral cell movements associated with evagination of the leg disc. An unusual discrepancy was observed in the relative frequencies of male vs. female bracts and bristles in gynandromorphs. The discrepancy suggests that there is a cell-autonomous sexual difference in either the time at which cells begin moving during evagination or the speed with which they move. On the basis of the results, it is reasoned that the bristle pattern of the basitarsus does not originate in its final form. Prior to evagination, the bristle cells of each row are apparently closer together than in the final pattern, and the rows are farther apart. Evidence is presented which suggests that the bristle cells of each row may originally be arranged in a jagged line which is later straightened by cell movements. The two locations where the anterior/posterior compartment boundary of the second leg passes through the basitarsus were found to vary relative to the bristle pattern. If this boundary is assumed to be a fixed line of positional values, then the extent of the observed variability — which is estimated to be ± 1 or 2 cell diameters — provides a measure of the precision of patterning around the circumference.

Notes: Summary Protein synthesis in egg follicles and blastoderm embryos ofDrosophila melanogaster has been studied by means of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Up to 400 polypeptide spots have been resolved on autoradiographs. Stage 10 follicles (for stages see King, 1970) were labelled in vitro for 10 to 60 min with35S-methionine and cut with tungsten needles into an anterior fragment containing the nurse cells and a posterior fragment containing the oocyte and follicle cells. The nurse cells were found to synthesize a complex pattern of proteins. At least two proteins were detected only in nurse cells but not in the oocyte even after a one hour labelling period. Nurse cells isolated from stages 9, 10 and 12 follicles were shown to synthesize stage specific patterns of proteins. Several proteins are synthesized in posterior fragments of stage 10 follicles but not in anterior fragments. These proteins are only found in follicle cells. No oocyte specific proteins have been detected. Striking differences between the protein patterns of anterior and posterior fragments persist until the nurse cells degenerate. In mature stage 14 follicles, labelled in vivo, no significant differences in the protein patterns of isolated anterior and posterior fragments could be detected; this may be due to technical limitations. At the blastoderm stage localized synthesis of specific proteins becomes detectable again. When blastoderm embryos, labelled in vivo, are cut with tungsten needles and the cells are isolated from anterior and posterior halves, differences become apparent. The pole cells located at the posterior pole are highly active in protein synthesis and contribute several specific proteins which are found exclusively in the posterior region of the embryo. In this study synthesis of specific proteins could only be demonstrated at those developmental stages which are characterized by the presence of different cell types within the egg chamber, while no differences were detected when stage 14 follicles were cut and anterior and posterior fragments analyzed separately. The differences in the pattern of protein synthesis by pole cells and blastoderm cells indicate that even the earliest stages of determination are reflected by marked changes at the biochemical level.

Notes: Summary The differentiation of muscles in primary cultures of cells fromDrosophila melanogaster embryos was investigated. In early cultures, and in the absence of exogenous ecdysone, two main classes of muscle were found. Comparison, by light and electron microscopy, of one of these classes (the “myotube” class) with muscles from third instar larvae shows that this class corresponds to the muscles of the body wall of the larva. When α- or β-ecdysone is added to the cultures, these undergo a number of metamorphic changes. Most of the larval muscles disappear, and two new types of muscle form. Ultrastructural and light microscopic examination of these two types indicates that they correspond to the two classes of skeletal muscle (fibrillar and tubular) found in adult flies.

Notes: Summary The pathway of adult sensory nerves has been analysed in three experimental situations: (i) in flies with grossly abnormal thoracic morphology resulting from X-irradiation early during development, (ii) in flies which had been subjected to surgical operations late in the larval period, (iii) in homoeotic mutants. The results provide experimental support for a simple mechanism in which developing adult axons join the nearest larval nerve and are guided by it up to the central nervous system. In particular, experimental interference with normal development can result in nerves from different segments, or from dorsal and ventral appendages, joining each other and entering the central nervous system together.

Notes: Summary The mature labial disc, when implanted into a larva of the same age, undergoes metamorphosis along with the host and produces one lateral half of the medi- and distiproboscis. On the basis of results obtained from transplanted disc halves (including the separate peripodial membrane) a tentative fate map of the labial disc was constructed, which shows most of the presumptive mediproboscis to be located in the dorsal, and most of the presumptive distiproboscis in the ventral part of the disc. The distal protion of the peripodial membrane also contains imaginal anlagen, viz. part of the mediproboscis, prementum, and labellar cap anlagen. The involvement of this part of the peripodial membrane was checked by a careful histological analysis of labial disc development during the first ten hours after prepupation. The results were compared with the situation described forCalliphora imaginal discs. In addition, a detailed morphological analysis was made of the proboscis of the homoeotic mutantproboscipedia (pb). At 27°C,pb changes the distiproboscis into a “telopodite” (leg segments distal to the coxa); the (unchanged) prementum may therefore correspond to the coxa. At 15° C, the tarsus of this homoeotic “telopodite” is replaced to a greater or lesser extent by an arista. The present analysis thus confirms (a) the fundamental morphological correspondence of the medi- and distiproboscis with the labium of other insects, and (b) the fundamental developmental correspondence of the labial, antennal, and leg discs.

Notes: Summary A temperature-sensitive period during early embryogenesis for three stocks carrying thetuh-3 gene suggests that it is a homoeotic mutation involved in the initial determination of the eye-antennal disc rather in maintenance of the determination.

Notes: Summary The development of the adult abdomen ofDrosophila melanogaster was analyzed by histology, microcautery, and genetic strategies. Eight nests of diploid histoblasts were identified in the newly hatched larva among the polytene epidermal cells of each abdominal segment: pairs of anterior dorsal, posterior dorsal, and ventral histoblast nests and a pair of spiracular anlagen. The histoblasts do not divide during larval life but begin dividing rapidly 3 h after pupariation, doubling every 3.6 h. Initially they remain confined to their original area, but 15 h after pupariation the nests enlarge, and histoblasts replace adjacent epidermis cell by cell. The histoblasts cover half the abdomen by 28 h after pupariation and the rest by 36 h. Polytene epidermal cells of the intersegmental margin are replaced last. Cautery of the anterior dorsal nest caused deletion of the whole corresponding hemitergite, whereas cautery of the posterior dorsal nest caused the deletion of the macrochaetae of the posterior of the hemitergite. Cautery of the ventral nest deleted the hemisternite and the pleura, whereas cautery of the spiracular anlagen deleted the spiracle. Results of cautery also revealed that no macrochaetae formed on the tergite in the absence of adjacent microchaetae. Clonal analysis revealed that there were no clonal restrictions within a hemitergite at pupariation. Cautery of polytene epidermal cells other than those of the intersegmental margin failed to affect tergite development. However, cautery of polytene epidermal cells of the intersegmental margin adjacent to either dorsal histoblast nest caused mirror-image duplications of the anterior or posterior of the hemitergite in 10% of the hemitergites. Forty percent of the damaged presumptive hemitergites formed complete hemitergites, indicating extensive pattern regulation and regeneration. Pattern duplication and regeneration were accounted for in terms of intercalation and a model of epimorphic pattern regulation (French et al., 1976). Histoblasts in adjacent segments normally develop independently, but if they are enabled to interact by deleting the polytene epidermal cells of the intersegmental margin, they undergo intercalation which results in duplication or regeneration. The possible role of the intersegmental margin cells of insects in development was analyzed.

Notes: Summary The development of the rhabdomeric pattern in the compound eye ofDrosophila has been studied using combined transplantation and electron microscope techniques. In a first series of experiments eye imaginal discs of increasing age were implanted into larvae ready to pupate, thus losing variable amounts of the normal time for development. A sequence of differentiative abilities was found in the metamorphosed test pieces. As far as the photoreceptor cells are concerned, the most prominent steps of this sequence are: ability to form groups with other similar elements, anatomical polarization of microvilli, establishment of the rhabdomeric pattern and formation of an equator line. The stability of determination of the equator line was tested in a second experimental series. Fragment of different topographical origin within the mature eye anlage were brought to metamorphosis by implantation into larvae ready to pupate. It was found that an equator line differentiates only in those pieces which according to the published anlage maps contain the prospective equator region prior to metamorphosis. The mitotic abilities of implanted eye imaginal discs were investigated by means of “in vitro”3H-thymidine pulse-labelling and light microscope autoradiography of the differentiated test pieces. During the third larval stage the eye anlage is traversed by two consecutive mitotic waves, each one of them producing different categories of receptor cells. The first, anterior wave predominantly produces cells oriented toward the poles of the eye within the ommatidia, while the second, posterior wave gives rise to elements exclusively in an equatorial position. The dynamics of this proliferation are discussed in relation to the findings in the implantation experiments. Silver-grain counts support the possibility that at least two successive cell divisions occur in the eye anlage between labeling with tritiated thymidine and beginning of morphological differentiation. The relevance of this finding for the understanding of the concept of acquisition of competence is discussed.

Notes: Summary The mutationbicaudal (Bull, 1966) causes embryos to develop a longitudinal mirror image duplication of the posteriormost abdominal segments, while head and thorax are missing. These embryos occur with varying frequencies among eggs laid by mutant females, irrespective of the paternal genotype. Recombination and deletion mapping indicate thatbicaudal (bic) is a recessive, hypomorphic, maternal-effect mutation mapping at a single locus on the second chromosome ofDrosophila melanogaster close tovg (67.0±0.1). The frequency of bicaudal embryos depends on the age of the mother, her genetic constitution and the temperature at which she is raised. Best producers are very young females hemizygous forbic (bic/Df(2)vg B ) at 28° C. Under these conditions 80% to 90% of the eggs which differentiate can show the bicaudal embryo phenotype. Upon ageing of the mother the frequency of bicaudal embryos declines rapidly, and most of the eggs develop the normal body pattern. Temperature shift experiments suggest a temperature-sensitive period at the onset of vitellogenesis. The mutation causes several types of abnormalities in the segment pattern of theDrosophila embryo, which are interpreted as various degrees of expression of the mutant character. The most frequent abnormal phenotype is the symmetrical bicaudal embryo with one to five abdominal segments duplicated. Less frequent are asymmetrical types, in which the smaller number of segments is always in the anterior reversed part. Other phenotypes are embryos with missing or rudimentary heads, and embryos with irregular gaps in the segment pattern. In bicaudal embryos, the pole cells, formed at the posterior pole of the egg prior to blastoderm formation, are not duplicated at the anterior. The significance of thebicaudal phenotypes for embryonic pattern-formation inDrosophila is discussed.

Notes: Summary The derivatives of 110 mosaic genital discs of gynandromorphs have been analysed microscopically. It has been found that theanalia of both sexes are homologous and derive from a single primordium (see Fig. 1a). Whether male or female anal plates are formed depends on the genetic constitution of the cells. This is analogous to the development of male sex combs versus female transversal rows on the forelegs of gynandromorphs. In contrast, the data for thegenitalia (see Fig. 1 b) are best explained if it is assumed that there are two genital primordia in everyDrosophila embryo: a male primordium that will only develop into genitalia if populated by XY (or XO) nuclei, and a female primordium that will only do so if populated by XX nuclei. This model, as depicted in Figure 2, is compatible with all our gynandromorph data and also with observations onMusca andCalliphora where in fact two separate genital primordia are found.

Notes: Summary Five regions of the compound eye have been found to be preferential boundaries for clones of labelledMinute + cells, and to act restrictively on the growth of cell clones after a given developmental stage. One of these regions is topographically related to the line of pattern inversion existing at the level of the equator. The results of experiments showing independency of origin of restriction lines and line of pattern inversion are reported.

Notes: Summary sev LY3,the only existing allele at thesev locus (1–33,2±0,2), behaves as strongly hypomorph or even as amorph. Ommatidia in asev compound eye have only seven receptor cells, the position of the R7 pattern element being vacant. Various criteria showing that the missing cell is R7 have been verified. These include (i) anatomical characteristics ofsev ommatidia; (ii) behaviour of central R cells insev rdgB double mutants; (iii) medullary projection of central R cell axons; and (iv) mitotic pattern ofsev imaginal discs. The analysis of morphogeneticsev-sev + mosaics has shown thatsev is expressed autonomously by R7 cells, indicating that thesev phenotype is not due to asev genotype of ommatidial pattern elements other than R7. The study of third instarsev imaginal discs has not brought any direct evidence for death of clustered presumptive R7 cells; however, clonal analysis of the developingsev compound eye has given evidence of developmental parameters comparable to those ofsev +, therefore favouring the hypothesis that R7 cells die insev mutants. On the other hand,sev + seems to be required for the determination of the R7 cells, since thesev phenotype cannot be uncovered during the last mitoses of heterozygous mutant cells.

Notes: Summary These experiments examined whether inDrosophila immature imaginal disc tissue and tissues from embryonic stages can influence pattern regulation in a disc fragment in the same way as can mature imaginal discs. Immature imaginal discs, or the cells of whole embryos, were mixed with a test fragment (presumptive notum) from a mature wing disc. The immature tissues in each mixture were genetically marked and had been heavily irradiated (25 Kr gamma) prior to mixing to prevent growth and maturation during subsequent culture in vivo. Alteration of the regulative behavior of the test fragment (that is, regeneration of wing) thus provided an assay for the communication of positional information by the immature tissues. The results suggest that this capacity arises well before competence to metamorphose, as early as the 16th hour of embryonic development, whereas prior to 16 h, essentially no stimulation of regeneration occurred. It is suggested that the imaginal disc (or presumptive disc) cells of the embryo may have been responsible for this early stimulatory capacity.

Notes: Summary The ontogeny of allozyme patterns has been studied in embryos ofDrosophilamelanogaster, which are doubly heterozygous for alleles specifying the slow and fast forms of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). The ontogeny of esterase-2 was studied in embryos and young larvae of the flour mothEphestia kühniella, which are heterozygous for two of the three existing esterase-2 alleles. In freshly laidDrosophila eggs only the maternal enzyme forms are present and during the first 15 hours of development the staining of these forms becomes progressively fainter. After 16 and 17 h, the paternal and hybrid bands of ADH and GPDH respectively become obvious. Before hatching, the intensity distribution in the three-banded pattern of reciprocal hybrids is asymmetric in favour of the persisting maternal enzyme form. InEphestia embryos, however, there is no persistence of the maternal esterases. In all reciprocal heterozygotes a three-banded pattern suddenly appears 96 h after egg deposition, indicating synchronous activation of both parental alleles. The relative intensity distribution in the hybrid patterns approaches that of the mature larvae stepwise and in an allele-specific manner. This result and the fact that the various heterozygous types exhibit unequal total activities suggest that the Esterase-2 alleles have different activities, which are fixed late in embryogenesis.

Notes: Summary The females produced in the crossesD. melanogaster×D. simulans andD. melanogaster×D. mauritiana are sterile and have reduced ovaries. Normal and fertile ovaries were produced when genetically marked pole cells ofD. melanogaster were transplanted into eggs which gave rise to the hybrid females. These results eliminate the possibility that the sterility of these hybrids is due to the somatic component, i.e. the follicular cells of the ovaries, or to other physiological causes. The results also suggest that the control of gonadal morphogenesis is dependent mainly on the germ line.

Notes: Summary Mitotic recombination was induced, by X-irradiation at the blastoderm stage, in flies heterozygous for one of the temperature-sensitive paralytic mutationsshibire andtp-2. The results show that these mutations can be used to detect the presence of clones in the central nervous system through the temperature-sensitive paralysis of individual legs. Mitotic recombination can also be used to examine the effects of these mutations in the peripheral nervous system; shibire is thus shown to affect the function of sensory neurons.

Notes: Summary Gynandromorphs with female XX-and male XO-areas result from the loss of an unstable ring-X-chromosome in the early cleavage mitoses of ring/rod-X-chromosome heterozygotes. The phenotypes of the recessive alleles on the rod-X-chromosome are expressed in the XO-areas. 377 larval gynandromorphs of the genotypeR(1)2, In(1)w vC /y w sn3Iz50e mal were examined and scored for the phenotypes of 13 paired and 10 unpaired structures (Table 2, Fig. 2). This was possible mainly by the cell-autonomous expression of aldehyde oxidase activity in soft tissues and by the comparison of the distribution of enzyme activity in wildtype and gynander larvae. The distances between pairs of structures were calculated in sturt-units (Tables 3 and 4). A morphogenetic fate map with the presumptive areas of larval structures was constructed (Fig. 3). The relative positions of the structures agree well with Poulson's fate map (Fig. 4). In addition, the distribution of phenotypes was scored in 380 adult gynandromorphs Table (5). The fate map (Fig. 5) which was constructed from these data is very similar to the fate map of larval structures. This similarity becomes even more pronounced if fate maps are constructed which contain only structures analogous in larva and imago (Table 6, Fig. 6). Therefore an attempt was made to set up an integrated morphogenetic fate map containing the presumptive areas of both larval and imaginal structures (Fig. 7). The possibilities of further blastoderm mapping are discussed.

Notes: Summary Our previous isoenzyme investigation ofDrosophila melanogaster cell lines in vitro has been completed with twelve further enzyme systems. The “enzyme profiles” seem to be in good agreement with a previous hypothesis concerning the precise origin of these cell lines (probably from imaginal discs or nervous tissues). Our results have been summarized with reference to the biochemical genetic map ofDrosophila melanogaster in order to consider a possible functional organization of the genome.

Notes: Summary Females homozygous for a newly isolated mutation induced by ethyl methane sulphonate,fs(1)K10, lay abnormally shaped eggs in which the dorsal appendages of the chorion are enlarged and fused ventrally. The eggs are usually not fertilized and development is never normal beyond the blastoderm stage. The mutant was mapped to the tip of the X-chromosome with a meiotic position of 1–0.5 and a cytological location between 2B17 and 3A3. Using germ line mosaics constructed by transplantation of pole cells, it was shown that the abnormal morphology and the sterility are obtained only when the germ line is homozygous for the mutant.

Notes: Summary Our report presents an analysis of the development and dynamics of the female germ line inDrosophila. Females were produced that were mosaic either for attached-X chromosomes $$(\widehat{XX})$$ and a ring-X (triplo-X-diplo-X), or for $$\widehat{XX}$$ and a marked Y-chromosome $$(\widehat{XX}/Y - \widehat{XX}/O)$$ . The germ-line and genitalia of these females were analysed by direct microscopic observation or by examination of the progeny. Eggs derived from triplo-X germ cells were hardly capable of supporting development, with most of the zygotes dying during embryonic development. The analysis of the germ line was therefore carried out mainly by direct observation of histochemically stained developing oocytes in the ovaries of mosaic females. The total germ cell population of both ovaries of a female was mosaic in 22–29% of the tested animals. From this frequency of mosaicism we estimated the number of functional primordial germ cells to be betwen 3 and 6 cells at the blastoderm stage. At this stage the cell lineages for the left and right ovary are not yet separated. The germ cell population of individual ovarioles was frequently mosaic which shows that the few stem cells in an ovariole are recruited as a group and are not clonal descendants of a single ancestor cell per ovariole. An analysis of the sequential pattern of oocyte-nurse cell cysts in mosaic ovarioles revealed that neighbouring cysts tend to be of the same genotype. This suggests that the stem cells of the adult ovaries preferentially divide in bursts, one of them giving rise to two, three and sometimes even more cystocytes in a row. In addition, the foci for lethality and sterility of the triplo-X condition were determined. Non-mosaic triplo-X females (metafemales) are hardly viable and invariably sterile. Using our mosaics, the focus forlethality could be mapped to a region very near the ventral prothoracic discs. The focus forsterility resides in the genitalia, since flies with triplo-X genitalia never laid any eggs, regardless of the genotype of their ovaries.

Notes: Summary TheDrosophila chorion is produced normally in isolated follicles in Robb's chemically defined culture medium. The complex architecture of the shell developed in vitro from follicles as young as early stage 10 is completely normal morphologically. In addition, the time required for in vitro development closely approximates that observed for in vivo development. Comparisons of insect culture media developed by Robb, Grace, Schneider, and Echalier show large variations in their ability to supportDrosophila chorion development.

Notes: Summary The bristle pattern of the second-leg basitarsus inDrosophila melanogaster was studied as a function of the number and size of the cells on this segment in well-fed and starved wild-type flies, in triploid flies, and in two mutants (dachs andfour-jointed) that have abnormally short basitarsi. The second-leg basitarsi of well-fed, wild-type flies from 22 otherDrosophila species were studied in a similar manner. There are typically 8 longitudinal rows of evenly-spaced bristles on the second-leg basitarsus, and in each row the number of bristles was consistently found to vary in proportion to the estimated number of cells along the segment, and the interval between bristles was found to vary in proportion to the average cell diameter on the segment. These correlations are interpreted to mean that the spacing of the bristles within each row is controlled developmentally, whereas the number of bristles is not. The interval between bristles is evidently measured either as a fixed number of cells or as a distance which indirectly depends upon cell diameter.

Notes: Summary The X-linkedrudimentary (r) mutants ofDrosophila melanogaster are pyrimidine auxotrophs and require exogenous pyrimidines (Nørby, 1970; Falk, 1976). We have established a set ofrudimentary cell lines that are derived from embryos, homozygous for eitherr 1 orr 36. The enzymatic activities of the pyrimidine synthesizing enzymes were measured in the mutant lines. We have further investigated the nutritional requirements of the mutant cells in vitro by using a pyrimidine free culture medium. Ther 1 cell lines were found to express 3–7%dihydroorotase (DHOase) activity as compared to a wildtype cell line. Reducedaspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase) activity was measured in somer 1 cell lines whereas wildtypecarbamylphosphate synthetase (CPSase) activity is expressed in allr 1 cell lines. Ther 36 cell line expresses wildtype activity ofDHOase andCPSase. ATCase activity was found to be reduced to 10% of the wildtype activity. The mutant cell lines do not proliferate in pyrimidine free minimal medium and cell proliferation is obtained by the addition of crude RNA. Proliferation of ther 1 cells is restored by the supplementation of the minimal medium withdihydroorotate whereas proliferation of ther 36 cells is restored by supplementation with eitherdihydroorotate orcarbamylaspartate. The results demonstrate that therudimentary phenotypesr 1 andr 36 are expressed at the cellular level and that the two mutant cell types behave as cellular pyrimidine auxotrophs in vitro.

Notes: Summary Salivary gland cells of members of theDrosophila melanogaster group (from four different subgroups) were examined electron microscopically and histochemically during the late larval period of development. The secretory product, which is supposed to be utilized as ‘glue’ at the time of puparium formation, appears, by analogy to Palade and Jamieson's results, to be synthesized partially in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and partially in the Golgi complex. The latter is also the usual site of the packaging of the product into secretory granules, except in the case of one of the secretory granule components ofD. lucipennis. The phylogenetic relationships among the subgroups, implied by the morphological appearance of the secretory granules, fit well with the existing phylogenetic relationships within the group. The secretory granules of each species have their own morphological features; granules of species of the same subgroup share some of these features. Secretion occurs from the cells via exocytosis during which the morphology of the secretory granules changes. Light microscope examination of PAS (Periodic Acid-Schiff reaction) stained glands shows a strong positive reaction in most species, with the exception of the species of thesuzukii subgroup which show a weak, or a negative reaction (D. rajasekari). Electron histochemical localization of polysaccharides in the secretory granules was possible inD. melanogaster and the species of theananassae subgroup.

Notes: Summary The generalogical relationships of photoreceptor cells within the compound eye ofDrosophila have been studied using cell labelling, with either3H-thymidine or recessive mutations, during the third larval stage. It has been found that photoreceptor and secondary pigment cells arise from different precursor cells. Under the present experimental conditions, precursors of receptor cells give rise to about 8 elements which differentiate as R cells of two different groups. One of the cells differentiates as R7 and the remaining as any one of the R1 to R6. The last cells behave initially as equivalent, and can differentiate within the same or within different, but neighbouring, ommatidia. The class of R1 to R6 cell in which each one of these elements differentiates, seems to depend on the time of its origin. The implications of these findings for the formation of the ommatidial pattern are discussed.

Notes: Summary The effect of suboptimal levels of α-ecdysone on the differentiation in vitro ofDrosophila melanogaster wing discs was enhanced by the addition of larval fat body to the cultures. However, similar experiments with β-ecdysome showed no enhancement. It is suggested that a partial conversion of α-ecdysone to β-ecdysone by the fat body may well account for these results.

Notes: Summary At the end of gastrulation, the lateral mesoderm of amphibian embryos migrates ventrally between the ectoderm and the endoderm. The present study is an examination of the morphology of the leading cells of the mesodermal sheet and of the substratum over which they move (the inner surface of the ectoderm). The cells of the leading edge of the mesoderm are generally round, with very short and narrow flattened projections in the forward direction. These projections do not have a “ruffled” morphology, regardless of whether fixation is carried out before or after the ectoderm and mesoderm are dissected away from the endoderm. The inner surface of the ectoderm is covered with fine (450–500A) filamentous extracellular material and the ectoderm cells sometimes extend cytoplasmic processes (approx. 0.1 μ wide) onto the leading surface of the mesoderm or onto adjacent ectoderm cells. These studies indicate that the morphology of cell migration in amphibians is closer to that seen inFundulus than to that characteristic of chick or mammalian cells.

Notes: Summary 1. The developmental potentials of the four quadrants of the male foreleg disc ofDrosophila melanogaster were analysed by culturing excised quadrants for 3 days and 10 days in adult hosts prior to metamorphosis. 2. The cultured pieces underwent different types of pattern regulation in a circular direction. The upper medial piece was able to regenerate the missing structures of the disc, thus confirming the findings of earlier reports. The three remaining pieces could undergo pattern duplication in mirror-image symmetry. The lower medial piece revealed in addition a slight capacity for regeneration from the vertical cut surface. 3. The duplicating pieces differed markedly in their frequencies of pattern duplication: duplications occurred with very high frequencies in lower medial pieces, with intermediate frequencies in upper lateral pieces, and with very low frequencies in lower lateral pieces. 4. Both lower lateral and upper lateral pieces underwent a progressive loss of most markers with increasing culture time. 5. Claws were regenerated solely by upper medial pieces. 6. Transdetermined structures, too, were encountered only in upper medial pieces. 7. The results are discussed with respect to the two major current models of pattern regulation in imaginal discs, the “gradient model” and the “clock model”. 8. It is suggested that the differences in the frequencies of pattern duplication reflect the unequal spacing of circular positional values within the three duplicating quadrants. Under this assumption the data indicate a progressive decrease in the density of circular positional values with increasing distance from the upper medial quadrant of the disc.

Notes: Summary We report on the size distribution of clones marked by mitotic recombination induced by several different doses of X-rays applied to 72 h oldDrosophila larvae. The results indicate that the radiation significantly reduces the number of cells which undergo normal proliferation in the imaginal wing disc. We estimate that 1000 r reduces by 40–60% the number of cells capable of making a normal contribution to the development of the adult wing. Part of this reduction is due to severe curtailment in the proliferative ability of cells which nevertheless remain capable of adult differentiation; this effect is possibly due to radiation-induced aneuploidy. Cytological evidence suggests that immediate cell death also occurs as a result of radiation doses as low as 100 r. The surviving cells are stimulated to undergo additional proliferation in response to the X-ray damage so that the result is the differentiation of a normal wing.

Notes: Summary Immature ovaries ofDrosophila mercatorum were injected into young larvae and into adult males ofD. mercatorum, D. melanogaster, D. hydei, D. virilis, andZaprionius vittiger. These homo- and heteroplastic transplantations allow normal vitellogenesis to occur in the donor ovary. By SDS gel electrophoresis, we identified the major species-specific yolk proteins of mature eggs (stage 14) which were exclusively of donor-specific origin. Other experiments withD. hydei andZ. vittiger showed that, when females were used as hosts, the host-specific yolk proteins became incorporated into the donor eggs. When two immature ovaries, one ofD. mercatorum and one ofD. hydei, were co-cultured in males, again only the donor-specific yolk proteins were found in the mature eggs implying that these yolk proteins were not released into the host hemolymph. A parthenogenetic strain ofD. mercatorum was used to demonstrate the ability of transplanted immature ovaries to produce viable eggs which can give rise to fertile adults. The role of the species-specific yolk proteins is discussed with respect to the dual origin of these proteins during normal vitellogenesis, i.e., an autonomous synthesis within the ovary itself in addition to the well-known production by the fat body. Further experiments with pupae as hosts indicate that even in the absence of juvenile hormone and in the presence of high doses of ecdysone, vitellogenesis can proceed within the donor ovary. Based on these experiments, a new hyopthesis on the hormonal control of vitellogenesis inDrosophila is presented. We propose that yolk proteins derived from the fat body are controlled by juvenile hormone, whereas the independent and autonomous vitellogenesis within the ovary itself is controlled by endogenously synthesized ecdysone.

Notes: Summary We estimate the number of blastoderm cells which generate the thoracic imaginal discs ofDrosophila. At hatching the wing disc is twice the size of the haltere disc, but the results suggest that both discs develop from a similar number of blastoderm cells. Two homeotic mutations, which transform the haltere into wing, affect embryonic growth but not the primordial number. All the segmental primordia may be of similar size and each may be similarly subdivided into a larger anterior, and a smaller posterior polyclone.

Notes: Summary The embryonic organization of the sexually dimorphic genital disc was studied in genetic mosaics resulting (a) from early loss of a chromosome or (b) from mitotic recombination. (a) Early Loss of a Chromosome. Three types of mosaics were produced — purely female mosaics, purely male mosaics, and gynandromorphs. They show that the genital disc arises from a group of cells in the ventral region of the embryo somewhat larger than that giving rise to a single foreleg (Table 2). Within this group of cells three regions can be distinguished that are present in both sexes: an anterior, a medial, and a posterior one, with distances of only 3–4 sturts between adjacent regions. The anterior region gives rise to the female genitalia, the medial region to the male genitalia, and the posterior region forms the analia of both sexes and the parovaria of the female (Figs. 2 and 3). The relative positions of the three regions were deduced from sturt distances (Tables 1 and 5), and from frequencies of mosaicism (Table 2). (b) Mitotic recombination was induced at the blastoderm stage in order to produce twin spots in the external genitalia and analia of purely male and female flies. Clone sizes indicate that these structures arise from a small number of precursor cells (Table 4). Clones overlapped right and left sides, but no clones were found extending over analia and genitalia. However, within either the analia or the genitalia of each sex, no clonal restrictions could be observed, and the clones comprised structures that were up to 12 sturts apart. A comparison of clone sizes and sturt distances in the foreleg and in the genital disc indicates that equal gynandromorph distances involve equal numbers of cells in different regions on the ellipsoid egg (Fig. 5). The results obtained from all mosaics provide a consistent picture of the embryonic organization of the genital disc. This becomes apparent in the summarized fate maps (Fig. 4), where the map derived from normal gynandromorphs can be produced by a simple superposition of the male and the female maps. The data are also discussed with respect to mechanisms of sexual differentiation in the genital disc.

Notes: Summary Mutations of the bithorax complex result in segmental transformations in the thorax and abdomen ofDrosophila. The haltere discs from larvae homozygous forbx 3 orpbx are transformed so that the discs contain cells that will produce wing cuticle as well as cells that produce haltere cuticle. The pattern regulation behavior of these discs has been examined. The fate maps of the two discs were established, and then the regulative behavior of a number of fragments from both types of mutant discs was established by culturing the fragments in vivo prior to metamorphosis. The most important conclusion from this work is that the cells producing, haltere cuticle and wing cuticle within the same disc share the same positional information and that they communicate during pattern regulation.

Notes: Summary Pairs of eye-antennal discs, attached to the cephalic ganglia, were cultured in vitro with a concentration of β-ecdysone optimal for imaginal differentiation. The eye-antennal discs fused to form a vesicle inside which the antennae were partially everted, and on the inner surface of which imaginal structures differentiated. The epithelium of the discs was continuous, and an integrated pattern of bristles and hairs differentiated in vitro. In particular, the median ocellus, a unified structure derived partially from each disc, differentiated normally.

Notes: Summary l(1)su(f)mad-ts (mad) is a new temperature-sensitive (ts) lethal mutant ofDrosophila melanogaster which produces duplicated legs after temperature pulse treatment during larval development. The ts-lethality was studied in temperature experiments and genetic mosaics. Temperature pulses given during two distinct TSPs of larval development result in two different types of leg pattern duplication. “Total” differ from “partial” duplications with respect to the affected leg compartments and the orientation of the planes of symmetry which are perpendicular to the dorso-ventral and the proximo-distal leg axes in total and partial duplications, respectively. Genetic mosaic studies indicate (i) disc autonomy of leg pattern duplication, (ii) clonal separation of the anlagen of the two pattern copies, and (iii) clonal restriction along the antero-posterior compartment border in the two pattern copies of totally duplicated legs. The results suggest thatmad leg pattern duplication is caused by a change in positional information rather than by cell death and subsequent regeneration. Our data are compatible with the assumption that during normal development the leg disc cells acquire information about their position within the disc with respect to the different leg axes independently and at different times.

Notes: Summary Two possible mechanisms are considered for the occurrence of experimentally or genetically induced duplications of bristles: extra cell division of a bristle mother cell versus determination of more than one mother cell. From a clonal analysis it appears that duplications induced by actinomycin-D arise by the latter mechanism, whereas those found in the mutantspl seem to arise by the former mechanism.

Notes: Summary The study describes the ultrastructure of the mineralized portion of chick tibiae from 10 days in ovo to 2 days post-hatch. At 10 days a single mineralized cylinder surrounds the diaphysis. On its outer surface columnar trabeculae join to form ridges parallel to the long axis of the bone. These ridges are covered by another cylinder and form the haversian canals. At 11 days vascular invasion of the marrow cavity occurs and resorption of the endosteal surface begins. This type of periosteal deposition and endosteal resorption is repeated during and subsequent to embryonic development. The mineralized portion of 10-day chick tibiae cultured for 2 days in modified BGJ medium was compared with 10-, 11-, and 12-day tibiae in ovo. Cultured tibiae were similar in length and calcium content to 11-day tibiae in ovo. The form of mineral deposited in ovo and in culture was the same, namely, aggregates of spherical mineral clusters. Differences in culture included the following: (a) few concentric cylinders were deposited as compared with tibiae in ovo; (b) trabeculae were not arranged in rows and ridges in culture; (c) osteocytic lacunae were restricted to bases of trabeculae rather than uniformly distributed as in ovo; and (d) the endosteal surface of tibiae in culture appeared etched.

Notes: Summary Chondrocytes in epiphyseal cartilage were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using freeze-fracture techniques. Freeze-fracture replicas showed large numbers of fingerlike, 0.11–0.15 μm diameter, projections from the chondrocyte surface, with numerous 95–180 Å diameter intramembranous particles associated with both the cell membrane surface and these projections. With SEM, these cytoplasmic projections were also obvious, but appeared collapsed into clusters of globular-shaped projections on the surface of the chondrocytes. With freeze-fracture techniques, in which shrinkage artifacts were essentially eliminated, the cytoplasmic projections were often seen in intimate contact with the extracapsular matrix. However, with chondrocytes prepared by both SEM and conventional TEM, there was evidence of shrinkage, the cytoplasmic projections having little contact with the extracapsular matrix. These findings show that the cytoplasmic processes are not artifacts of tissue processing and provide morphological evidence in support of the hypothesis that matrix vesicles are of cellular origin.

Notes: Summary Sixteen 58-day-old male rats of Wistar strain, with a mean body weight of 179 g, were divided into two equal groups. Each group of eight animals was maintained for 70 days on drinking water, ad lib., containing no fluorine (control group) and 100 ppm of fluorine (experimental group). All specimens examined were obtained from the incisal portions of the incisors. The following types of enamel specimens were prepared for scanning electron microscopy: (1) acid-etched specimens; (2) acid-etched specimens followed by low temperature microincineration; and (3) fractured specimens. The enamel formed during high fluoride exposure showed marked hypocalcification, that is, the crystallite density in the prism core and interprismatic region was lower than that of control animals. The organic substances appeared to increase in these regions. These changes were prominent in the outer and middle enamel layers. Such changes following fluoride administration appear to indicate an inhibition of enamel maturation, that is, an inhibition of the mineral deposition and/or an inhibition of organic matrix withdrawal.

Notes: Abstract A study has been made of the wall fibrils produced by tobacco protoplasts, using scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with negative staining. It has been shown that the fibres seen in scanning electron microscopy correspond to aggregates of microfibrils. These aggregates are only visible where they are lifted clear of the protoplast surface. Negative staining of fixed protoplasts shows that the aggregation of microfibrils into the fibres visible in scanning electron microscopy is probably produced by air-drying. Gentle disruption of microfibrils produces both random broken fragments and bundles of short pieces of fibrillar material about 60 nm in length. This material is present in undisrupted young walls, but not in undisrupted older walls. The microfibrils in young walls seem much more fragile and liable to breakage than those in older walls. These results are discussed in terms of the interpretation of scanning electron microscope images and the mechanism of cellulose microfibril formation by higher plants.

Notes: Abstract Galactomannan was localized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy on the cells and cell walls of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The markers were prepared from colloidal gold granules labelled with an α-galactopyranosyl-binding lectin isolated from the seeds of Bandeiraea simplicifolia. Part or all of this α-galactomannan was present in the outer layer of the cell wall and was uniformly distributed even on the fission scars.

Notes: Abstract The β(1→3)glucanase of Basidiomycete QM 806 was used to prepare Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida utilis protoplasts. Plasma membranes isolated from S. cerevisiae contained a small amount of mannose and traces of glucose and ribose. Randomly distributed α-mannan was detected by scanning electron microscopy at the surface of prefixed protoplasts using colloidal gold labelled with Concanavalin A as a marker. C. utilis protoplasts were also marked with anti-mannan antibodies. Again the distribution of mannan was random. This experiment indicated also that plasma membrane mannan has the same immunochemical determinants as cell wall mannan. It is hypothesized that mannan is mainly located in the outer layer of plasma membranes.

Notes: Abstract A technique has been developed by which mating gametes of Chlamydomonas eugametos can be studied in the Scanning Electron Microscope. A detailed description of the mating process, from the initial flagellar agglutination until the release of free vis-à-vis pairs, is presented. Flagella appear to agglutinate at random points on their surface. This is followed by a rapid increase of the contact area such that they “line-up” tip to tip. Flagella always exhibit a typical position prior to cell fusion. After cell fusion the flagella of a pair separate rapidly while the female have shortened about 33%. In a vis-à-vis pair the plasma bridge has contracted. The observations are interpreted in terms of a specific reorganization of the sexuale aggregate.

Notes: Abstract Two new mutants, deficient in aldehyde oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase, have been isolated from a wild-type stock of Drosophila melanogaster and have been provisionally termed lxd c and lxd d, respectively, as both mutants appear to be allelic with lxd (low xanthine dehydrogenase). An analysis has been made of the effects of dietary molybdenum on lxd, lxd c, lxdd, lao (low aldehyde oxidase), mal (maroon-like eye color), and pac (Pacific) wild-type flies. On the lower dietary levels of 10 −3 M and 10 −2 M molybdenum, increases in specific activity of both enzymes were observed only in lxd. Furthermore, two- to three-fold increases in specific activity of both enzymes occurred in all strains, except mal, when cultured on 5×10 −2 M molybdenum. The lxd and lxd c strains failed to survive on this high concentration of the ion. Similar concentrations of molybdenum had no effect in vitro. An extra electrophoretic band of xanthine dehydrogenase was observed on polyacrylamide gel from extracts of wild-type flies cultured on certain levels of molybdenum, but its appearance was not always correlated with the increases in specific activity.

Notes: Abstract 3-Hydroxykynurenine is virtually absent from st larvae but accumulates during adult development in the puparium. Over the period of adult emergence, the accumulated 3-hydroxykynurenine is excreted so that st adults contain none. Larvae of st fed on tryptophan-C 14 medium produce labeled 3-hydroxykynurenine, at a reduced rate, perhaps, compared to wild type. Xanthurenic acid levels in st pupae are similar to those in wild type. Thus the failure of st larvae to accumulate 3-hydroxykynurenine does not seem to be due either to an inability to synthesize this compound or to an excessive rate of its conversion to xanthurenic acid. Rather, it appears that the mechanism of 3-hydroxykynurenine storage during larval life is defective, so that this compound is excreted at an abnormally high rate. The inability of the pigment cells of the eyes of st to synthesize xanthommatin may result from a similar defect in their ability to take up or store 3-hydroxykynurenine.

Notes: Abstract A marked decrease in the amount of the A2 component of phenol oxidase occurs in the speck locus of Drosophila melanogaster. The amount of A2 in speck is restored to a normal amount in the presence of the suppressor mutant, su(s) 2.

Notes: Abstract The size range of poly(A)-containing RNA from Drosophila melanogaster embryos has been estimated by hybridization with 3H-labeled poly(U) and subsequent fractionation on sucrose gradients. The median size of nuclear poly(A)-containing RNA is about 30 S (6000 nucleotides), and the median size of cytoplasmic poly(A)-containing RNA is about 17 S (1800 nucleotides). The relationship of these sizes to messenger RNA needed to code for protein and to the length of DNA contained in a chromomere is discussed.

Notes: Abstract Particulate fractions from the heads of Drosophila melanogaster catalyze the conversion of o-aminophenols to phenoxazinones. This particulate enzyme is stimulated by Mn2+. It has a number of features which distinguish it clearly from the Mn2+-dependent activity found in the soluble fraction. The particulate enzyme has a characteristic developmental pattern, showing a marked increase in activity at about the time of onset of xanthommatin synthesis. In addition, it is much reduced in activity in a number of xanthommatin-deficient mutants (v, cn, st, cd, and w). We believe that the head particulate enzyme is involved in xanthommatin biosynthesis and that the developmental onset of synthesis of this pigment is brought about by the synthesis or activation of this enzyme.

Notes: Abstract The first enzyme (named GTP cyclohydrolase) in the pathway for the biosynthesis of pteridines has been partially purified from extracts of late pupae and young adults of Drosophila melanogaster. This enzyme catalyzes the hydrolytic removal from GTP of carbon 8 as formate and the synthesis of 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(d-erythro-1′,2′,3′-trihydroxypropyl)-7,8-dihydropteridine triphosphate (dihydroneopterin triphosphate). Some of the properties of the enzyme are as follows: it functions optimally at pH 7.8 and at 42 C; activity is unaffected by KCl and NaCl, but divalent cations (Mg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, and Ca2+) are inhibitory; the K m for GTP is 22 μm; and the molecular weight is estimated at 345,000 from gel filtration experiments. Of a number of nucleotides tested, only GDP and dGTP were used to any extent as substrate in place of GTP, and these respective compounds were used only 1.8% and 1.5% as well as GTP.

Notes: Abstract An interaction between the lozenge gene and the suppressor of forked gene of Drosophila melanogaster has been investigated both spectrophotometrically and electrophoretically. The nature of this interaction is such that certain lozenge alleles appear to be phenotypically suppressed while others are enhanced or unaffected, and the results reported demonstrate that the effect can clearly be observed at the biochemical level. Earlier observations have suggested that the suppressor of forked gene codes for a ribosomal protein, and this hypothesis is discussed.

Notes: Abstract In the natural populations +Tüb, +Prov, and +Rov, similar Adh F allele frequencies occur (q F=0.11, 0.18, and 0.08, respectively). However, there is a discrepancy in that the Adh F allele in +Tüb is closely linked to the lethal factor 1(2)Stm, which reduces relative fitness of the F phenotype to zero. In spite of this, polymorphism is maintained also in +Tüb, because the heterozygotes are superior to the homozygous S type (relative fitness=0.88). Under laboratory culture conditions, in +Tüb the relative fitness of the S genotype further decreases to 0.6. After outcrossing the lethal factor, relative fitnesses for S, FS, and F become 0.6, 1, and 0.48, respectively, implying that fitness for S remains the same. Relative values for S, FS, and F in +Prov, not affected by the lethal factor, are calculated by the maximum average fitness method to be 1, 1.2, and 0.2 under the assumption that heterozygous FS are similarly superior to S as in the natural +Tüb population and all allele frequencies found are stable equilibrium values.

Notes: Abstract The basis for the differentiation of l-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (α-GPDH) into larval and adult isozymes in Drosophila melanogaster was investigated by the correlation of a lack of appearance of each isozyme during development within Drosophila bearing α-GPDH “null” alleles and by the study of a putative conversion factor. Conversion studies indicate the presence of a heat-labile RNase-resistant conversion factor present in crude larval extracts with the ability to convert GPDH-1 to GPDH-2 and GPDH-3 but not vice versa. In addition, “null” mutations at the Gpdh locus obliterate all isozymatic species of α-GPDH in all developmental stages. These observations suggest that all α-GPDH isozymes are the product of a single structural gene and that the multiple forms of this enzyme arise during successive developmental stages through an epigenetic modification of the primary Gpdh + polypeptide. Finally, observations are reported which bear on the functional divergence of the α-glycerophosphate cycle in the adult and larval stage of development.

Notes: Abstract Allozyme polymorphisms at seven loci have been studied in nine natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster from the Saône and Rhône valleys sampled in 1973 and 1974. A great deal of polymorphism was observed; an individual was on the average heterozygous at 20.2% of its loci. The populations were genetically very homogeneous throughout the region sampled. The number of ovariolae per female varied from one group of populations to another depending on their geographical separation. Yet the number of ovariolae remained constant from one year to the next. The results show that migration alone cannot explain the homogeneity of the allozyme frequencies. It seems reasonable to conclude that selection plays a major role in maintaining the homogeneity of populations living in proximal biotopes.

Notes: Abstract The activities of the enzymes aspartate transcarbamylase (ATCase) and dihydroorotase (DHOase) were determined in adult females from a wild-type strain and from eight different alleles of the X-linked mutation rudimentary (r) of Drosophila melanogaster. The alleles chosen span the genetic map of the r locus. The characteristics of the DHOase-catalyzed reaction which converts carbamyl aspartate to dihydroorotate are briefly described. Of all of the r strains tested, only one, r 9, has wild-type levels of aspartate transcarbamylase and dihydroorotase activities. The other seven show either intermediate or very low levels of activity for both enzymes. The lowered ATCase and DHOase activities observed in mutants which do not map in the region of the structural gene for these enzymes are interpreted in light of recent evidence that ATCase and DHOase are part of a three-enzyme complex.

Notes: Abstract Drosophila melanogaster collected from natural populations were examined fo thermostability variants within electrophoretic mobility classes of two enzymes. In alcohol dehydrogenase, two discrete forms of the “slow” allozyme and three discrete forms of the “fast” allozyme were revealed by postelectrophoretic treatments ranging from 15 sec at 40 C to 40 sec at 43 C. All variants have been mapped to within 0.7 unit of the Adh locus. Results of a geographic survey indicate that two alleles giving rise to fast-moderate and slow-moderate allozymes are common everywhere; other variants have a collective frequency ranging from 0% to 7%. In a test of the possibility that the rare Adh alleles could be generated by intragenic recombination between the two common alleles, electrophoresis and heat treatment of progeny recombinant for flanking markers of Adh revealed no new allozymes. Among 27 stocks containing slow α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase allozymes and 109 fast stocks, heat treatments revealed no additional variation.

Notes: Abstract The reaction catalyzed by GTP cyclohydrolase is the first unique step of pteridine biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster and is therefore likely to be an important control point. GTP cyclohydrolase activity varies during development, showing two distinct peaks of activity—one at pupariation and a much larger peak at emergence. Most of the early pupal enzyme is located in the body region, whereas in late pupal and early adult life most of the activity is found in the head. Mixing experiments indicate that developmental changes in activity are not due to changes in the level of a direct effector of GTP cyclohydrolase. The mutants raspberry and prune show an increased GTP cyclohydrolase activity at pupariation relative to wild type, but a decreased enzyme activity at emergence. The changes in GTP cyclohydrolase activity are reflected in changes in pteridine levels in these mutants. Several lines of evidence suggest that neither locus is the structural gene for GTP cyclohydrolase. The raspberry and prune gene products may play a specific role in regulating GTP cyclohydrolase activity during development.

Notes: Abstract Three of the major protein species present in the hemolymph of Drosophila melanogaster larvae just prior to pupation are absent from second instar larvae but accumulate rapidly during the third instar. This article describes the purification and characterization of one of these, larval serum protein (LSP) 2, using an immunological assay. It is a homohexamer of molecular weight about 450,000, with a polypeptide molecular weight of 78,000–83,000. Fast and slow electrophoretic variants of this protein map between the markers vin and gs, at 36–37 on chromosome 3.

Notes: Abstract A deoxyribonuclease, called DNase-1, that is active at acid pH in the presence of EDTA has been studied in Drosophila melanogaster. The locus for the enzyme maps genetically to 61.8 on the right arm of the third chromosome. Cytogenetically, DNase-1 has been localized to within five to ten bands between 90C-2 and 90E. This analysis utilizes both electrophoretic variants and the Y-autosome translocations of Lindsley et al. (1972). DNase-1 is present in all stages of the life cycle, and the paternal genome actively contributes DNase-1 to the embryo between 0 and 1 hr after fertilization.

Notes: Abstract Among strains of Drosophila melanogaster each derived from a single fertilized female taken from natural populations, there is variation in both alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and the amount of ADH protein. The correlation between ADH activity and number of molecules over all strains examined is 0.87 or 0.96 in late third instar larvae depending on whether the substrate is 2-propanol or ethanol. With respect to the two common electrophoretic allozymic forms, F and S, segregating in these populations, the FF strains on the whole have higher ADH activities and numbers of ADH molecules than the SS strains. Over all strains examined, enzyme extracts from FF strains have a mean catalytic efficiency per enzyme molecule higher than that of enzyme extracts from SS strains when ethanol is the substrate, and much higher when 2-propanol is the substrate. One FF strain had an ADH activity/ADH protein ratio characteristic of SS strains.

Notes: Abstract Alcohol dehydrogenase is necessary for ethanol detoxification and metabolic utilization. It has been generally assumed that aldehyde oxidase (AO) produced by the Aldox locus (3–56.7) is necessary for a further transformation of acetaldehyde into acetate. We find that various mutant strains (ma-l or Aldox n) which do not produce an active enzyme show about the same tolerance to alcohol as do wild strains. This physiological paradox is probably to be explained by the discovery of another locus (not localized) which produced a small amount of AO in all tested strains. The adaptive significance of the genetically polymorphic Aldox locus is probably to be looked for in physiological pathways other than ethanol metabolism.

Notes: Abstract A simple procedure is described to detect genetic heterogeneity within electrophoretic classes at a locus in Drosophila, based on electrophoresis and heat denaturation studies. Temperature-resistant (tr) and temperature-sensitive (ts) isoelectrophoretic alleles at the phosphoglucomutase locus (Pgm) are present at polymorphic frequencies in natural and in laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster.

Notes: Abstract Only one molecular form of trehalase (E.C. 3.2.1.28) was detectable in adult Drosophila melanogaster by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. An examination of duplication- and deletion-bearing aneuploids exhibiting do sage sensitivity indicated that the enzyme is encoded by a gene, Treh +, located between 55B and 55E of the second chromosome. The tissue-specific soluble and particulate forms of trehalase appear to be manifestations of a single protein encoded by a single gene.

Notes: Abstract A variegated position effect on the autonomous gene, purple, has been studied enzymologically in Drosophila melanogaster. Sepiapterin synthase, the enzyme system associated with pr +, was examined for activity in different developmental stages of the fly. The results indicate that T(Y:2) pr c5, cn/prc4 cn flies (flies in which pr + has been translocated and which exhibit variegation) have a reduced amount of enzyme activity as compared with both Oregon-R and pr 1 flies. This reduction in activity was not found in larval stages, which suggests that the inactivation process probably occurs in late larval or early pupal stages. The phenotype of the variegated adult has white eyes with red-colored spots and patches where drosopterins occur. The phenotype of the fly carrying the translocation is modified by the presence of additional Y chromosomes. This extends the observation from other systems that extra heterochromatin acts to suppress the variegated position effect. The advantages of studying the variegation by measuring enzyme activity, as well as the phenotypic expression, are several; for example, the developmental time at which variegation occurs may be estimated even though drosopterin synthesis is not occurring.

Notes: Abstract The electrophoretic variants of G6PD and 6PGD isolated from the Bogota Drosophila melanogaster population were characterized developmentally and biochemically. Changes in in vitro enzyme activity during development were comparable to those found for other dehydrogenases: an increase in the larval and adult stage and a decrease in the pupal stage. During the whole life cycle the “S” enzyme of both loci showed a higher activity than the “F” enzyme. MgCl2 had a stimulating effect on the activity of both enzymes whereas their heat stability was decreased. The allozymes of 6PGD had different Vmax's but were comparable with respect to Km values, pH optimum, and stability at 45 C. the allozymes of G6PD showed different Vmax's and differed in stability at 35 C, but had similar Km values and pH optima. As the difference in stability was probably due to differences in molecular structure of the allozymes, the differences in activity found at high pH and high MgCl2 concentration were most probably due to this difference in stability.

Notes: Abstract Sepiapterin synthase, the enzyme system responsible for the synthesis of sepiapterin from dihydroneopterin triphosphate, has been partially purified from extracts of the heads of young adult fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). The sepiapterin synthase system consists of two components, termed “enzyme A” (MW 82,000) and “enzyme B” (MW 36,000). Some of the properties of the enzyme system are as follows: NADPH and a divalent cation, supplied most effectively as MgCl2, are required for activity; optimal activity occurs at pH 7.4 and 30 C; the K m for dihydroneopterin triphosphate is 10 µm; and a number of unconjugated pterins, including biopterin and sepiapterin, are inhibitory. Dihydroneopterin cannot be used as substrate in place of dihydroneopterin triphosphate. Evidence is presented in support of a proposed reaction mechanism for the enzymatic conversion of dihydroneopterin triphosphate to sepiapterin in which enzyme A catalyzes the production of a labile intermediate by nonhydrolytic elimination of the phosphates of dihydroneopterin triphosphate, and enzyme B catalyzes the conversion of this intermediate, in the presence of NADPH, to sepiapterin. An analysis of the activity of sepiapterin synthase during development in Drosophila revealed the presence of a small amount of activity in eggs and young larvae and a much larger amount in late pupae and young adults. Sepiapterin synthase activity during development corresponds with the appearance of sepiapterin in the flies. Of a variety of eye color mutants of Drosophila melanogaster tested for sepiapterin synthase activity, only purple (pr) flies contained activity that was significantly lower than that found in the wild-type flies (22% of the wild-type activity). Further studies indicated that the amount of enzyme A activity is low in purple flies, whereas the amount of enzyme B activity is equal to that present in wild-type flies.

Notes: Abstract Four glycolytic enzymes in Drosophila melanogaster have been genetically and/or cytogenetically mapped. The structural gene for aldolase (Ald) has been genetically mapped to 3-91.5 and cytogenetically localized to 97A-B. Tpi, the structural gene for triosephosphate isomerase, has been genetically mapped to 3-101.3 and cytogenetically localized to 99B-E. Utilizing closer-flanking markers than the previous mapping, Pgk, the structural gene for 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, has been mapped to 2-5.9; cytogenetically it was found to lie in the interval between 22D and 23E3. The cytogenetic location of Pgm, the structural gene for phosphoglucomutase which has been located genetically at 3-43.4, was determined to be in 72D1-5.

Notes: Abstract A biochemical comparison was made between α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase allozymes from Drosophila melanogaster. Enzymes extracted from the three major genotypes were indistinguishable in terms of their pH optima and thermal stabilities. Distinctive differences were observed for three parameters; temperature dependence of specific activity, temperature dependence of Km, and reaction rate constancy over a physiological temperature range. These results are discussed in terms of a model of balancing selection and the existence of spatial and temporal allele frequency clines in natural populations.

Notes: Abstract Kynurenine-H 3 transport and conversion to 3-hydroxykynurenine were studied in organ culture using the Malpighian tubules and developing eyes from wild type and the eye color mutants w, st, 1td, ca, and cn of Drosophila melanogaster. Malpighian tubules from wild type have the ability to concentrate kynurenine and convert it to 3-hydroxykynurenine. The tubules from w, st, 1td, and ca are deficient in the ability to transport kynurenine, as are the eyes of the mutants w, st, and 1td. This defect in kynurenine transport provides a physiological explanation for the phenotypic properties of the mutants. The relationship of these measurements to previous observations on these eye color mutants is discussed and the transport defect hypothesis is consistently supported. We have concluded that several of the eye color mutants in Drosophila are transport mutants.

Notes: Abstract Experiments utilizing standard techniques of cell fractionation and disc electrophoresis have revealed the presence of three distinctly different enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of d-sorbitol in crude extracts of Drosophila melanogaster adults. These include (1) a soluble NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SoDHs), (2) a mitochondrial NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SoDHm), and (3) a soluble NADP-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NADP-SoDH). The structural gene for NAD-SoDHs has been mapped to a locus between 65.3 and 65.6 on the third chromosome by means of an electrophoretic variant and a low-activity allele. Through the use of segmental aneuploidy, this gene has been localized to the region limited by salivary bands 91B–93F. Because mutants which alter either the activity or electrophoretic mobility of the soluble NAD-dependent enzyme have no significant measurable effect on the mitochondrial or NADP-dependent forms, it is suggested that the enzymes in this system are coded for autonomously by different genes.

Notes: Abstract The enzyme guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase (GTP cyclohydrolase), which in bacteria is known to be the first enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway for the synthesis of pteridines, has been discovered in extracts of Drosophila melanogaster. Most of the enzyme (80%) is located in the head of the adult fly. An analysis of enzyme activity during development in Drosophila has revealed the presence of a relatively small peak of activity at pupariation and a much larger peak that appears at about the time of eclosion. Enzyme activity declines rapidly as the fly ages. Analyses for the production of the typical pteridine pigments of Drosophila have indicated that the small peak of GTP cyclohydrolase activity evident at pupariation coincides with the appearance of isoxanthopterin, sepiapterin, and pterin, and the larger peak at eclosion roughly corresponds to the accumulation of drosopterin as well as to the appearance in larger amounts of pterin and sepiapterin. These observations strongly suggest that in Drosophila, like bacteria, GTP cyclohydrolase is involved in the biosynthesis of pteridines. Analyses of a variety of zeste mutants of Drosophila melanogaster have shown that these mutants all contain GTP cyclohydrolase equal approximately to the amount found in the wild-type fly. These observations do not support the suggestions made by Rasmusson et al. (1973) that zeste is the structural locus for GTP cyclohydrolase.

Notes: Abstract The activity levels of alcohol dehydrogenase and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase were compared among nine species of Drosophila representing three phylogenetic groups. For any given life stage, interspecific variability in activity level was much greater for ADH than for α-GPDH. Patterns of ontogenetic expression of enzyme activity were also much more variable among species for ADH than for α-GPDH. These results are consistent with the interpretation that α-GPDH is involved with a relatively uniform adaptive function among species, whereas ADH levels may reflect variable adaptive capabilities. There is a significant correlation between ADH activities and survivorship on alcohol-treated media for these nine species.

Notes: Abstract Our earlier evidence concerning the complexity of the activation process for Drosophila phenol oxidase has been confirmed by separation and purification of six proteins involved. This is a minimal number required in a reaction series or cascade to yield active enzyme, and at least two more proteins are known to be involved. A simpler system involving only the last step with one precursor and one activation as has been reported in the literature is consistent with the cascade picture, but the whole complex system must be considered when dealing with genetic and developmental regulation of pigmentation and sclerotization. Details are given for partial or complete purification of six of the proteins involved and evidence for their modes of interaction is presented.

Notes: Abstract An improved thin-layer chromatography technique is described for the separation of fluorescent compounds found in extracts of heads of Drosophila melanogaster. Eighteen to twenty fluorescent spots are resolved, two of which are xanthurenic acid and 3-hydroxykynurenine, and the remaining spots are presumably pteridines. Of these, nine have been identified and quantitated directly on the chromatograms with a fluorometer. One of the spots present on the chromatogram apparently has not been described previous to this work. Characteristics of this substance, termed “quench spot,” are presented, several of which indicate that it may be a pteridine or pteridine derivative.

Notes: Abstract Glutamine-dependent CPSase, ATCase, and DHOase from Drosophila, the first three enzymes in pyrimidine biosynthesis, show coordinate variation in activity throughout development. The three activities were highest in first instar larvae and decreased as development proceeded. The three activities cosediment in sucrose gradients as a single peak with a relative sedimentation coefficient of approximately 30S. CPSase, ATCase, and DHOase copurify during (NH4) 2SO4 fractionation and during DEAE-cellulose and hydroxylapatite chromatography.

Notes: Abstract A mutant Had nl was induced in Drosophila melanogaster and found to be deficient in β-hydroxy acid dehydrogenase. This mutation was utilized to study the genetics and physiological expression of Had +. Had+ was mapped to the X chromosome at 54.4 and seems to be the structural gene for the enzyme. Enzyme activity in male and female flies indicates that the gene shows both dosage compensation independent from dose effect and differential activity during ontogeny. Electrophoretic mobility data indicate that the enzyme is a dimer which forms by random association of subunits. The fact that the mutant shows no detrimental effect implies that the enzyme is dispensable, at least under laboratory conditions. The biological and technical implications of this gene-enzyme system are discussed.

Notes: Abstract The genetic rescue of Pgd n lethal alleles, accomplished by combining them with mutations lacking glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, has led to the hypothesis that Pgd n lethality may be due to the accumulation of 6-phosphogluconate. In this article we report the rescue of Pgd n /Y males by dietary supplements (fructose and linolenate) designed to minimize 6-phosphogluconate production.

Notes: Abstract It has been shown that crude extracts of Drosophila melanogaster adults contain three distinctly different enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of d-sorbitol into d-fructose. These include (1) a soluble NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SoDHs), (2) a mitochondrial NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SoDHm), and (3) a soluble NADP-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NADP-SoDH). Developmental studies have shown that the activities of all three of these enzymes are lowest during the larval stages while highest levels are seen during or shortly prior to the adult period. With respect to NAD-SoDHs, studies of tissue distribution in adults have shown that highest activity is associated with thoracic musculature in both sexes and with organs of the male reproductive system. The developmental profile of this enzyme reveals a significant increase in activity at between 40 and 60 hr after hatching. This time interval corresponds closely to that during which the paternally derived NAD-SoDHs gene is expressed. An additional increase in activity is seen in male pupae at 160 hr and in female adults at 210 hr. The rapid increase in males takes place immediately following the developmental period during which the testes attach to their respective duct systems. NADP-SoDH activity is concentrated among organs of the thorax and abdomen in both sexes. Males show significantly higher levels of this enzyme during the late pupal and early adult periods. In contrast to the patterns of distribution seen for NAD-SoDHs and NADP-SoDH, 91–92% of the total NAD-SoDHm activity in adults is localized to the thoracic musculature. The developmental profile of this enzyme reveals a significant increase in activity during the late pupal and early adult periods, when flight muscle mitochondria are known to be proliferating and undergoing structural maturation.

Notes: Abstract Among the progeny of Drosophila flies heterozygous for two noncomplementing Adh-negative alleles, two individuals were found that had recovered appreciable alcohol dehydrogenase activity, thereby surviving the ethanol medium used as a screen. The most likely explanation is that these Adh-positive flies are the product of intracistronic recombination within the Adh locus. Judging by the distribution of outside markers, one of the crossovers would have been a conventional reciprocal exchange while the other appears to have been an instance of nonreciprocal recombination. The enzymes produced in strains derived from the original survivors can be easily distinguished from wild-type enzymes ADH-S and ADH-F on the basis of their sensitivity to denaturing agents. None of various physical and catalytic properties tested revealed differences between the enzymes of the survivor strains except that in one of them the level of activity is 55–65% of the other. Quantitative immunological determinations of ADH gave estimates of enzyme protein which are proportional to the measured activity levels. These results are interpreted to indicate that different amounts of ADH protein are being accumulated in the two strains.

Notes: Abstract Biochemical properties of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster were investigated using partially purified preparations from three genotypes, 1/1, 1/2, and 2/2. The molecular weight of the enzyme is estimated to be about 90,000, and treatment with sodium dodecylsulfate cleaves the enzyme into four units with a molecular weight of about 22,000. The activity toward 28 naturally occurring esters was assayed and shown to vary considerably with substrate, the 1/1 preparation having in general higher activity than 1/2 and 2/2, which were very similar. Heat sensitivity, the effect of metal ions, and the effects of the presence or absence of an end product were also studied. The differences demonstrated between allozymes would allow considerable scope, under appropriate conditions, for differential selection to operate between genotypes.

Notes: Abstract Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) of adult stage in Drosophila melanogaster has been characterized by gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, and isoelectric focusing. The two common electrophoretic variants, PGMA and PGMB, differ with respect to their kinetic and stability parameters. PGMA is more thermostable than PGMB but shows the same pH optimum, equal dependence on Mg2+, and identical molecular weight. There is no significant kinetic difference between the two allozymes at the optimum pH value, but at pH 6.0 the K m value for glucose-1,6-diphosphate of PGMB is significantly higher than that of PGMA. This difference might explain the observed selective advantage of the Pgm A allele in population studies.

Notes: Abstract NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME) (E.C. 1.1.1.40) is situated in the cytosol of Drosophila melanogaster. Both the tissue activity and CRM level of NADP-ME parallel changes in the dosage of a gene, Men +, located in region 87C2-3 to 87D1-2 of the third chromosome. The tissue activity of NADP-ME is very high in early third instar larvae, providing about 33% of the NADPH at this life stage. The tissue activity declines during pupal development but increases as the adult ages. The concentration of NADP-ME CRM and tissue activity are coordinately increased in third instar larvae by dietary carbohydrate and decreased by dietary lipid.

Notes: Abstract Isoelectrofocusing of abdominal extracts of Drosophila melanogaster revealed the existence of two forms of sucrase (E.C. 3.2.1.26). One form exhibited an isoelectric point of 4.63±0.02 while the other form exhibited an isoelectric point of 4.83±0.02. The localization of the structural gene for sucrase is proposed on the basis of enzyme determinations in a series of duplication- and deletion-bearing aneuploids. We suggest that the sucrase structural gene lies between 31CD and 31EF on the left arm of chromosome 2 and that the two forms of abdominal sucrase derive from a common protein coded for by a single sucrase gene designated Sucr +.

Notes: Abstract Genetic and cytogenetic locations of the structural genes for the NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenases have been studied. The mitochondrial form (mMDH) is coded for by a gene (Mdh) found at 62.6 on the third chromosome and included in Df(3R)P14, which includes 90C2–91A3 in the salivary gland chromosomes. Based on its inclusion within several J (Jammed; 2–41.0) deficiencies, the structural gene (cMdh) for the cytoplasmic form (cMDH) was determined to lie in region 31B-E, confirming the earlier finding of Grell. Flies lacking any cMDH activity (cMdhn-γ10069/ Df(2L)J-der-27) were both viable and fertile.

Notes: Abstract The toxicity of the first eight primary alcohols and of four secondary alcohols was compared in a wild-type strain (having active ADH) and an ADH-negative mutant. Differences between lc 50 measured in the two strains allowed an evaluation of the biological activity of the enzyme. In vitro, ADH is mainly active on secondary alcohols, while in vivo its main role is the detoxification and metabolism of ethanol. These observations suggest that originally ADH was involved in unknown metabolic pathways and that its utilization in ethanol metabolism could be a recent event.

Notes: Abstract Extracts from an acid phosphatase CRM− null mutant of Drosophila melanogaster were used to eliminate contaminating antibodies in a nonspecific preparation of anti-acid phosphatase serum. This method of producing specific antisera makes unnecessary the rigorous purification of an antigen prior to immunization attempts in those cases where CRM− null mutants of the antigen are available. Antisera so prepared could be used for a wide variety of purposes.

Notes: Abstract Keeping Drosophila cultures at 28 C results in elimination of all minor multiple ADH bands, thought to be due to conformational change. Thus in diploid and triploid adults heterozygous for the Adh F and Adh Salleles, relative staining intensities are found for the three bands which were in conformity with the assumption that both alleles are equally expressed. Among all polymorphic strains derived from natural Central European and Mediterranean populations, the strain +Tüb is unique in that its Adh Fallele is closely linked to a new recessive lethal factor, named 1(2)Stm. All Adh F 1/AdhF 1 pupae are unable to emerge, and die. The lethal effect is obvious 50 hr earlier by retarded eye, bristle, and body wall pigmentation. Although all pupae of the phenotype F die, Adh F allele frequency scarcely seems to be lowered in this natural population.

Notes: Abstract Two Drosophila melanogaster strains, each heterozygous for “fast” and “slow” alleles at the Adh locus, and each having balanced second chromosomes, were found to differ in the apparent thermostability of the slow allozyme. The two strains were crossed, and F1heterozygotes were separated on the basis of the origin of the slow allele. After electrophoresis, the cellulose acetate strips were treated 1 1/2 min at 35 C. The putatively more sensitive allozyme showed a strikingly greater response to heat. These findings further support the conclusion that electrophoretically cryptic allelic differences exist which are expressed in thermostability differences. Further application of this approach has revealed one similar sensitive slow allozyme and three cases of a relatively resistant fast ADH allozyme in wild-caught flies.

Notes: Abstract Using a double mutant strain, Pgd n Zw n , we have developed an assay for 6-phosphogluconolactonase activity and have demonstrated its occurrence in adult Drosophila melanogaster.

Notes: Abstract The in vitro incorporation of γ-32P-labeled nucleoside triphosphates into RNA by Drosophila melanogaster form II RNA polymerase from template sites which afford protection from the initiation inhibitor, polyriboinosinic acid (poly [I]), is used as a method for enumerating a specific class of transcription initiation sites on D. melanogaster DNA. Such sites number about 4000 per haploid genome for D. melanogaster. This value is in good agreement with the number of functional genetic units in the D. melanogaster genome as determined by classical cytogenetics.

Notes: Abstract When adult Drosophila are placed on medium containing 0.5% acetone, their level of alcohol dehydrogenase activity drops rapidly. At the same time, the proportion of activity in the various electrophoretic forms of the enzyme shifts; most of the activity becomes localized in what is ordinarily a minor form of the enzyme. Moreover, the loss of enzyme activity occurs in vivo as well, as shown by sensitivity to ethanol poisoning, insensitivity to pentenol treatment, and inability to utilize ethanol as an energy source. These observations are discussed in light of a model advanced for the origin of the multiple forms of alcohol dehydrogenase in Drosophila.

Notes: Abstract Uptakes of guanine into Malpighian tubules of wild-type Drosophila and the eye color mutants white (w), brown (bw), and pink-peach (p p) have been compared. Tubules for each of these mutants are unable to concentrate guanine intracellularly. The transport of xanthine and riboflavin is also deficient in w tubules. The transport of guanosine, adenine, hypoxanthine, and guanosine monophosphate is similar in wild-type and white Malpighian tubules. These data and other information about these mutants make it likely that these pteridine-deficient eye color mutants do not produce pigments because of the inability to transport a pteridine precursor. This view supports the hypothesis that mutants which lack both pteridine and ommochromes do so because precursors to both classes of pigments share a common transport system.

Notes: Abstract On the basis of band staining intensities in electrophoretic runs of single flies homozygous and heterozygous for two alleles at the autosomal locus for GPDH, F allele activity is believed to be 8% lower than S allele activity. Indeed, the intensity distribution in the patterns of FSS and FFS triploid females shows that both are not equally expressed. On a per fly or live weight basis, females with two and three doses of the Gpdh gene show bands with equal staining intensity, thus exhibiting a dosage effect when GPDH activity is estimated on a per cell basis.

Notes: Abstract A new variant of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH 71k) was found in a laboratory stock of Drosophila melanogaster. ADH in this stock had the same electrophoretic mobility as the F variant both on acrylamide and on agar. Activity levels were similar to the levels in F flies at temperatures between 15 and 25 C. But while ADH F enzyme is inactivated rapidly at 40 C, ADH 71k is still active. Also, ADH S is not inactivated at this temperature, but has a far lower activity per fly than ADH 71k. Genetic analysis showed that the new variant is an allele of the Adh locus.