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  • Drosophila  (737)
  • Springer  (737)
  • Blackwell Publishing Ltd
  • American Institute of Physics (AIP)
  • 101
    ISSN: 1573-3017
    Keywords: Developmental instability ; cactophilic ; Drosophila ; fluctuatingasymmetry ; stress
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Notes: Abstract We examined the relationship between developmental stress and fluctuating asymmetry in a natural population of Drosophila pachea, a cactophilic fruitfly. Cactus host variation was found to exert significant influence on the size of legs and of wings of emerging adults, but stressors associated with reduced size did not show the predicted increase in fluctuating asymmetry for either leg or wing length. These findings underscore questions raised by other investigators as to the broad utility of fluctuating asymmetry as a measure of environmental stress
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  • 102
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    Behavior genetics 27 (1997), S. 483-488 
    ISSN: 1573-3297
    Keywords: Drosophila ; sex peptide ; ovulation ; mating suppression ; antiaphrodisiac pheromone
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Psychology
    Notes: Abstract Virgin females of Drosophila melanogaster that are ectopically expressing the sex-pep-tide gene show a high level of ovulation and are unreceptive to males. However, if they are genetically deprived of eggs, receptivity is considerably restored (Fuyama, 1995). These females, whether they have eggs or not, extrude their ovipositors toward courting males as frequently as do fertilized females. However, this rejection behavior was ineffective in suppressing male courtship. Of females with eggs, about half of them could suppress male courtship. Females lacking eggs could not suppress male courtship and continued to elicit vigorous courtship. This difference seems to account for the increased mating frequency in sterilized females. Courtship behavior by mutant males defective in olfaction or learning suggested that females are capable of repelling males by emitting a volatile pheromone(s) with an inhibitory effect on male courtship.
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  • 103
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: artificial selection ; Drosophila ; genetic variation ; non-linear response ; rare alleles
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Quantitative genetic theory predicts that variation due to rare alleles at many loci will generate a transient acceleration in the response to directional selection. We have tested this prediction by constructing experimental lines ofDrosophila melanogaster that carry positively selected ethanol resistance alleles at low frequencies, and then subjecting the lines to directional selection for ethanol resistance. Approximately 468,000 files were subjected to artificial selection over 30 generations. The predicted non-linear selection responses were observed in all experimental lines and replicates, on three genetic backgrounds. In contrast, un-selected controls and lines carrying random alleles at low frequencies on the same genetic backgrounds exhibited linear selection responses. These results demonstrate that non-linearities due to rare alleles are detectable and repeatable, provided that experiments are done on a sufficiently large scale. The results suggest that it may be possible to test for rare-alleles as a component of naturally occurring genetic variation by careful examination of selection response curves.
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  • 104
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; P-element mutagenesis ; somatic mosaics ; visual system
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A neuroanatomical screening of a collection of P-element mutagenized flies has been carried out with the aim of finding new mutants affecting the optic lobe of the adult brain in Drosophila melanogaster. We have identified a new gene that is involved in the development of the adult axon array in the optic ganglia and in the ommatidia assembly. We have named this locus visual system disorganizer (vid). Reversional mutagenesis demonstrated that the vid mutant was the result of a P-element insertion in the Drosophila genome and allowed us to generate independent alleles, some of which resulted in semilethality, like the vid original mutant, while the others were completely lethal. A genetic somatic mosaic analysis indicated that the vid gene is required in the eye for its normal development by inductive effects. This analysis also suggests an inductive effect of the vid gene on the distal portion of the optic lobe, particularly the lamina and the first optic chiasma. Moreover, the absence of mutant phenotype in the proximal region of the optic ganglia, including the medulla, the second optic chiasma, and the lobula complex underlying mosaic eyes, is suggestive of an autonomously acting mechanism of the vid gene in the optic lobe. The complete or partial lethality generated by different mutations at the vid locus suggests that this gene's role may not be limited to the visual system, but may also affect a vital function during Drosophila development.
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  • 105
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; P-element mutagenesis ; somatic mosaics ; visual system
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A neuroanatomical screening of a collection of P-element mutagenized flies has been carried out with the aim of finding new mutants affecting the optic lobe of the adult brain inDrosophila melanogaster. We have identified a new gene that is involved in the development of the adult axon array in the optic ganglia and in the ommatidia assembly. We have named this locusvisual system disorganizer (vid). Reversional mutagenesis demonstrated that thevid mutant was the result of a P-element insertion in theDrosophila genome and allowed us to generate independent alleles, some of which resulted in semilethality, like thevid original mutant, while the others were completely lethal. A genetic somatic mosaic analysis indicated that thevid gene is required in the eye for its normal development by inductive effects. This analysis also suggests an inductive effect of thevid gene on the distal portion of the optic lobe, particularly the lamina and the first optic chiasma. Moreover, the absence of mutant phenotype in the proximal region of the optic ganglia, including the medulla, the second optic chiasma, and the lobula complex underlying mosaic eyes, is suggestive of an autonomously acting mechanism of thevid gene in the optic lobe. The complete or partial lethality generated by different mutations at thevid locus suggests that this gene's role may not be limited to the visual system, but may also affect a vital function duringDrosophila development.
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  • 106
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Ovary morphogenesis ; Mitotic wave ; Pattern formation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The adult ovary of Drosophila is composed of approximately twenty parallel repetitive structures called ovarioles. The ovarioles appear at the prepupal stage and their formation requires the presence of stacks of discshaped cells called the terminal filaments. Terminal filaments form in a progressive manner during the third larval instar. We have looked at the beginning of formation of both the terminal filaments and ovarioles at an ultrastructural level. Moreover, we studied the pattern of division of the terminal filament cell precursors using the base analog, BrdU. Two main waves of division are observed. The first wave consists of divisions of almost all the terminal filament cell precursors during a short period of time at the transition between the second and third larval instar. The second wave, in which the precursors carry out their final divisions before differentiating, occurs gradually, going from the medial to the lateral side of the ovary during the first half of the third larval instar.
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  • 107
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    Development genes and evolution 205 (1996), S. 468-475 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Type IV collagen ; Drosophila ; Germ band retraction ; Dorsal closure ; Nerve cord condensation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A collagen gene (Dcg1) was characterized in Drosophila melanogaster and shown to encode a peptide related to vertebrate basement membrane type IV collagen chains. To study the function of type IV collagen during Drosophila development, we transformed flies with a partially truncated Dcg1 gene under the control of a heat-shock promotor. This construct induced synthesis of shortened pro-α chains which associated with normal ones and thereby caused degradation of the shortened and normal pro-α chains through a process called “pro-collagen suicide”. A large proportion of embryos expressing the transgene developed a phenotype exhibiting absence or partial retraction of the germ band with defects in nerve cord condensation and dorsal closure. Together these results indicated that, during embryogenesis, type IV collagen was an essential guiding factor for cell-matrix interactions in morphogenetic events.
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  • 108
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Transposable elements ; Drosophila ; Tirant ; Retrotransposon
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract In this paper we report a new retrotransposon-like element ofDrosophila melanogaster calledTirant. This sequence is moderately repeated in the genome of this species and it has been found to be widely dispersed throughout its distribution area. From Southern blot andin situ analyses, this sequence appears to be mobile inD. melanogaster, since its chromosome location and the hybridization patterns vary among the different strains analyzed. In this way, partial sequencing ofTirant ends suggests that it is a retrotransposon, since it is flanked by two LTRs. The presence of sequences homologous toTirant has been also investigated in 28 species of the genusDrosophila by means of Southern analyses. These sequences were only detected in species frommelanogaster andobscura groups. These data suggest that ancestral sequences ofTirant appeared after the Sophophora radiation and before the divergence of those groups.
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  • 109
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Lcp gene family ; Gene homogenization ; CAAT-box motifs ; Gene phylogeny ; Sex chromosomes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The larval cuticle protein genes (Lcps) represent a multigene family located at the right arm of the metacentric autosome 2 (2R) inDrosophila melanogaster. Due to a chromosome fusion theLcp locus ofDrosophila miranda is situated on a pair of secondary sex chromosomes, theX2 andneo-Y chromosome. Comparing the DNA sequences fromD. miranda andD. melanogaster organization and the gene arrangement ofLcp1-Lcp4 are similar, although the intergene distances vary considerably. The greatest difference betweenLcp1 andLcp2 is due to the occurrence of a pseudogene inD. melanogaster which is not present inD. miranda. Thus the cluster of the fourLcp genes existed already before the separation of themelanogaster andobscura group. Intraspecific homogenizations of different cluster units must have occurred repeatedly between theLcp1/Lcp2 andLcp3/Lcp4 sequence types. The most obvious example is exon 2 of theLcp3 gene inD. miranda, which has been substituted by the corresponding section of theLcp4 gene rather recently. The homogenization must have occurred before the translocation which generated theneo-Y chromosome.Lcp3 ofD. melanogaster has therefore no orthologous partner inD. miranda. Rearrangements in the promoter regions of theD. miranda Lcp genes have generated new, potentially functional CAAT-box motifs. Since three of theLcp alleles on theneo-Y are not expressed andLcp3 is expressed only at a reduced level, it is suggestive to speculate that the rearrangements might be involved ascis-regulatory elements in the up-regulation of theX2-chromosomalLcp alleles, inDrosophila an essential process for dosage compensation. TheLcp genes on theneo-Y chromosome have accumulated more base substitutions than the corresponding alleles on theX2.
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  • 110
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Cuticle proteins (LCP) ; Conserved protein motifs ; Gene phylogeny ; Sex chromosomes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The larval cuticle proteins (LCPs) are encoded by a multigene family,Lcp1-4, located at the right arm of the metacentric autosome 2 (2R) inDrosophila melanogaster. Due to a chromosome fusion theLcp locus ofDrosophila miranda is situated on a pair of secondary sex chromosomes, theX2 andneo-Y chromosomes. Comparing the deduced amino acid sequences of the autosomalD. melanogaster loci with the sex-chromosomal loci ofD. miranda, we were able to trace the evolution of theLcp loci with respect to their different chromosomal inheritance. The length of the signal peptide is conserved in all four LCPs, while the size of the mature LCPs varies. Conserved protein motifs became obvious from the alignment, indicating regions of structural and functional importance. Analyzing intra- and interspecific sequence similarities of theLcp gene families allowed us to reconstruct the phylogeny of the gene cluster. Alignment with cuticle amino acid sequences originating from divergent insect species reveals motifs already present in the primordial insect LCPs. These motifs indicate different levels of constraint acting during the evolution of the LCPs.
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  • 111
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: alcohol dehydrogenase ; Drosophila ; enhancer ; regulation ; transformation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A region (NS1) that acts like an enhancer is located approximately 300 bp upstream of the larval cap site in theAdh gene ofD. melanogaster. When this sequence is deleted (ΔNS1), the gene fails to express ADH protein. Gene expression can be restored by placing a secondAdh gene with an intact enhancer elsewhere on the same plasmid. In these circumstances, both genes are expressed equally regardless of their orientation on the plasmid. In this report we further characterize the interactions that occur when a single enhancer activates expression from a proximal and distant promoter. We have made the following observations: (1) While the two genes are expressed equivalently, their expression relative to a plasmid carrying two intact genes is reduced by a factor of 2 to 6 depending on the orientation of the two genes. (2) The single enhancer drives expression of both genes on any given plasmid molecule. (3) The enhancer does not interact with theAdh gene from which the NS7 region (which spans the larval TATA box) is removed. (4) Expression of the ΔNS1 gene can be restored by an intact gene when both are inserted together into theDrosophila genome via P element-mediated transformation. (5) Increasing the separation between the two genes on a plasmid by up to 15 kbp does not prevent the restoration of expression of the ΔNS1 gene. We propose a model that explains how a single enhancer can stimulate equal expression from two genes.
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  • 112
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    Journal of comparative physiology 178 (1996), S. 513-522 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Potassium channel ; Photoreceptor ; Calliphora ; Drosophila ; Shaker
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Single electrode current and voltage clamp recordings in Calliphora, and whole-cell voltage clamp recordings in Drosophila were used to characterise the voltage-gated K channels in both major classes of photoreceptors, R7/8 (long visual fibres, LVFs) and R1-6 (short visual fibres, SVFs). R7/8 were identified by their unique spectral properties, ca. 3–4 fold higher input resistances and 3–4 fold lower cell capacitance. In Calliphora SVFs possess both fast and slow activating delayed rectifier potassium conductances. Drosophila SVFs possess a slowly inactivating delayed rectifier (IKs), a very rapidly inactivating A channel encoded by the Shaker gene (IA), and, in a minority of cells, a third K conductance with intermediate kinetics (IKf). In both specs the LVFs lack the slowest component, but exhibit the faster K conductance(s) with properties indistinguishable from those in the SVFs. These findings add to established evidence demonstrating the significant role played by potassium channels in tuning the photoreceptor membrane. The results also suggest that R1-6 photoreceptors and R7/8 form inputs to visual subsystems tuned to different temporal frequencies.
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  • 113
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 251 (1996), S. 91-98 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Key words vestigial ; Drosophila ; Antifolates ; Transcription
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract  The vestigial (vg) gene of Drosophila melano-gaster encodes a nuclear protein which plays a key role in wing formation but is also involved in other developmental processes. We have previously shown that depletion of the dTMP pool by aminopterin, an inhibitor of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, or by fluorodeoxyuridine, an inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase, induces nicks in the wings of wild-type flies and a strong vg phenotype in vg BG /+ flies and also in individuals heterozygous for a deficiency of the vg locus (vg B /+). Furthermore, specific alterations of the vg locus, caused by intronic insertions, are associated with resistance to these drugs. In this paper, we show that: (1) depletion of the dTMP pool by aminopterin leads to a decrease in the amount of vg transcripts; (2) insertion of the retrotransposon 412 in the vg BG mutant, which is resistant to aminopterin, leads to the formation of a truncated transcript that is prematurely terminated in the long terminal repeat of this transposable element; and (3) aminopterin also affects the level of this truncated transcript. These results indicate that alterations of the wing by inhibitors of dTMP synthesis are caused by an effect of these drugs on levels of vg transcripts; the resistance to such agents observed for the vg BG strain is not due to a qualitatively different effect of this drug on the vg transcript but, rather, is related to the expression of a modified Vg protein encoded by a truncated transcript. These results are compatible with a role for vestigial in modulating cell proliferation.
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  • 114
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 251 (1996), S. 91-98 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: vestigial ; Drosophila ; Antifolates ; Transcription
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Thevestigial (vg) gene ofDrosophila melanogaster encodes a nuclear protein which plays a key role in wing formation but is also involved in other developmental processes. We have previously shown that depletion of the dTMP pool by aminopterin, an inhibitor of the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase, or by fluorodeoxyuridine, an inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase, induces nicks in the wings of wild-type flies and a strongvg phenotype invg BG /+ flies and also in individuals heterozygous for a deficiency of thevg locus (vg B /+). Furthermore, specific alterations of thevg locus, caused by intronic insertions, are associated with resistance to these drugs. In this paper, we show that: (1) depletion of the dTMP pool by aminopterin leads to a decrease in the amount ofvg transcripts; (2) insertion of the retrotransposon412 in thevg BG mutant, which is resistant to aminopterin, leads to the formation of a truncated transcript that is prematurely terminated in the long terminal repeat of this transposable element; and (3) aminopterin also affects the level of this truncated transcript. These results indicate that alterations of the wing by inhibitors of dTMP synthesis are caused by an effect of these drugs on levels ofvg transcripts; the resistance to such agents observed for thevg BG strain is not due to a qualitatively different effect of this drug on thevg transcript but, rather, is related to the expression of a modified Vg protein encoded by a truncated transcript. These results are compatible with a role forvestigial in modulating cell proliferation.
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  • 115
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; cut ; zeste ; Polycomb ; su(Hw)
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The phenotypic expression of several mutations in thecut locus ofDrosophila melanogaster is modified by mutations in thezeste, e(y)2 ande(y)3 genes and in some genes of thePolycomb group. All tested sensitivecut mutations have a partially inactivated cut wing enhancer.e(y)3 ul, zv77h andSu(z)2 5 mutations enhance, whilee(y)2 ul, zOp6, Psc1, Su(z)301, Su(z)302 andScm D1 mutations suppress the ct mutant phenotype. The results are discussed in terms of the role of long-distance interactions and DNA compaction in transcriptional control of thecut locus.
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  • 116
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Enhancer of split ; achaete-scute ; Helix-loop-helix proteins ; Protein-protein interactions
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract TheEnhancer of split andachaete-scute gene complexes [E(spl)-C and AS-C] encode helix-loop-helix proteins required for neurogenesis inDrosophila. Using a heterologous bacterial system, we show that (i) the bHLH domains of the proteins encoded by the two gene complexes differ in their ability to form homo- and/or heterodimers; (ii) the bHLH domains of the E(spl)-C proteins m5, m7 and m8 interact with the bHLH domains of the Ac and Sc proteins. These bHLH domains form an interaction network which may represent the molecular mechanism whereby the competent state of the proneural cells is maintained until the terminal determination to neuroblast occurs. Also, the pattern of interactions of the bHLH domains of certain proteins encoded by the two gene complexes may explain their functional redundancy.
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  • 117
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    Oecologia 108 (1996), S. 262-272 
    ISSN: 1432-1939
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Temperature performance ; Life history ; Thermal environment
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The variability of morphological and lifehistory traits in Drosophila melanogaster and D. subobscura, two sympatric Drosophila species of different climatic origin, were investigated with regard to seasonal and daily temperature and humidity fluctuations to assess thermal sensitivity and the responses of freeliving organisms to oscillating temperatures. Temperature and humidity were measured continuously at the site where Drosophila were observed throughout the day, and thus represent a realistic picture of the temperature environment of these animals. A phenotypic model (gaussian curve) of temperature performance was fitted to daily fecundities and provided estimates of the position of temperature optimum and of the maximum and the breadth of performance for both species. D. melanogaster had a higher optimum temperature than D. subobscura. A trade-off between the maximum and the breadth of performance was detected both within and between the species.
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  • 118
    ISSN: 1432-1939
    Keywords: Nested subsets ; Drosophila ; Community structure ; Species-area relationships
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Nested subset structure has been studied in archipelagoes and fragmented habitats, and has been attributed to differential colonization and extinction rates among species and nested environmental tolerances. In this experiment, we tested for nestedness in assemblages of mycophagous fly larvae. Twenty mushrooms in each of three size classes (4.8–6.0 g, 10–15 g, 21–32 g) were placed on moist potting soil in experimental cups. The cups were placed in oak and pine forests in Greenville, S.C., USA for 5 days, where they were available to ovipositing flies. Upon collection, the mushrooms were incubated in the laboratory for 3 weeks and all emerging flies were sorted by species, counted, and weighed. A random placement analysis was conducted to determine whether the species richness pattern was a sampling artifact of the species abundance distributions. The actual species richness pattern did not conform to the random placement model; most mushrooms contained significantly fewer species than predicted by random sampling. The communities were strongly nested as measured by two different indices, and the nestedness pattern was related to mushroom size. Small mushrooms usually produced no flies or a single species, Dohrniphora sp. (Phoridae). Medium and large mushrooms typically produced more species-rich communities that usually contained the phorid and Drosophila putrida, D. tripunctata, and Leucophenga varia. This core guild was nested within a more diverse assemblage that included D. falleni, Mycodrosophila dimidiata, a muscid, and two Leptocera sp. (sphaeroceridae). These patterns are tentatively explained in the context of nested desiccation tolerances, mediated by differences in mushroom size.
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  • 119
    ISSN: 1432-1939
    Keywords: Competition ; Environment ; Fitness ; Genetic variation ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The outcome of interspecific competition of two closely related species may depend upon genetic variation in the two species and the environment in which the experiment is carried out. Interspecific competition in the two sibling species, Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans, is usually investigated using longterm laboratory stocks that often have mutant markers that distinguish them. To examine competition in flies that genetically more closely resemble flies in nature, we utilized freshly caught wildtype isofemale lines of the two species collected at the same site in San Carlos, Mexico. Under ordinary laboratory conditions, D. melanogaster always won in competition. However, in hotter and drier conditions, D. simulans competed much more effectively. In these environmental conditions, there were genetic differences in competitive ability among lines with the outcome of competition primarily dependent upon the line of D. melanogaster used but in some cases also influenced by the line of D. simulans used. Differences in the measures of productivity and developmental time did not explain the differences in competitive ability among lines. This suggests that the outcome of competition was not due to differences in major fitness components among the isofemale lines but to some other attribute(s) that influenced competitive ability. When lines of flies were combined, the outcome of competition was generally consistent with competitive outcomes between pairs of lines. In several cases, the combination of lines performed better than the best of the constituent lines, suggesting that competitive ability was combined heterotically and that the total amount of genetic variation was important in the outcome of interspecific competition.
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  • 120
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    Oecologia 108 (1996), S. 552-561 
    ISSN: 1432-1939
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Colonization ; Ecology ; Succession ; Guild
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The guild of “cosmopolitan” Drosophila coexist almost worldwide and yet the mechanisms that underlie this coexistence are unknown. The larval resource of the guild is decaying fruit and vegetables, but the species show little specialization and can coexist on a single resource, such as oranges. In southern California the guild includes D. simulans (SIM), D. melanogaster (MEL), D. pseudoobscura (OBS), D. immigrans (IMM), D. hydei (HYD) and D. busckii (BUS). These species show consistent differences in their colonization of decaying organges, differences that may promote their coexistence. This study tested whether the colonization pattern of a species is determined primarily by attraction to specific resource types (decayed or fresh organges), by ability to colonize new resource patches, or by dependence on a successional sequence of Drosophila species. The experiments compared oranges that were pre-aged prior to a colonization period and showed that the colonization pattern of each species (except OBS) was driven primarily by its decay-dependent attraction to oranges. While OBS exhibited a pattern of colonization independent of pre-aging, the remaining species all showed some preference for older (7-day pre-aged) over fresh oranges. Their overall pattern of attraction, ordered by high relative abundance on fresher organges, was SIM〉MEL=IMM〉HYD=BUS. BUS, a specialist on decaying plant material, was the only species that showed a preference for 11-day over 7-day oranges. Pre-aging the oranges under covers, to prevent prior colonization by Drosophila, did not change the interspecific pattern of colonization, indicating that microbial decay was driving the changes in attraction. The patterns of attraction separated two ecologically similar pairs (SIM from MEL; IMM from HYD) and published data on ethanol tolerance show that, in each pair, the earliest colonizer has the lower tolerance. This suggests an important interplay between colonization patterns and physiological optima.
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  • 121
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    Cellular and molecular life sciences 52 (1996), S. 503-510 
    ISSN: 1420-9071
    Keywords: Drosophila ; accessory gland ; reproduction ; sexual behavior ; sperm displacement ; evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Recent results from biochemical and molecular genetic studies of the accessory gland proteins in maleDrosophila are reviewed. The most prominent feature is the species-specific variability. However, the analysis of the sex peptide inD. melanogaster shows that there is a strong homology in the molecular structure to the closely related sibling species, and that divergence increases with increasing phylogenetic distance. For this reason the sex peptide, after being transferred to the female genital tract during copulation, reduces receptivity and increases oviposition only in virgin females belonging to the same species group and subgroup. Even though studies were hitherto limited to a small number of the secretory components, it is evident that the accessory gland proteins play a key role in reproductive success of the fruit fly by changing female sexual behavior, supporting sperm transfer, storage and displacement. Thus, genes encoding the accessory gland proteins are apparently under strong evolutionary selection.
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  • 122
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    Cellular and molecular life sciences 52 (1996), S. 643-646 
    ISSN: 1420-9071
    Keywords: Aging ; development time ; stress ; energy cost ; oxidative stress ; Drosophila ; homeostasis ; life span
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract Life span and development time are considered in the context of the abiotic stresses to which free-living organisms are normally exposed. Under these circumstances, long life span depends upon metabolically efficient stress-resistance genes, which tend to be heterozygous. Similarly, rapid development time tends to be a feature of heterozygous stress-resistant individuals. Therefore, individuals who have high inherited stress resistance should develop fastest and live longest; in addition, they should show high homeostasis in the face of the energy costs of stress. In this way, the stress theory of aging can incorporate the developmental stage, based upon oxidative stress as an important major direct challenge.
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  • 123
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    Cellular and molecular life sciences 52 (1996), S. 751-756 
    ISSN: 1420-9071
    Keywords: Chaperonin ; Drosophila ; groEL ; heat shock ; heat shock proteins ; HSP60 ; Malpighian tubules ; TCP-1
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract A homologue of the chaperonin protein of the HSP60 family has not been shown so far inDrosophila. Using an antibody specific to HSP60 family protein in Western blotting and immunocytochemistry, we showed that a 64-kDa polypeptide, homologous to the HSP60, is constitutively present in all tissues ofDrosophila melanogaster throughout the life cycle from the freshly laid egg to all embryonic, larval and adult stages. A 64-kDa polypeptide reacting with the same antibody in Western blots is present in all species ofDrosophila examined. Using Western blotting in conjunction with35S-methionine labeling of newly synthesized proteins and immuno-precipitation of the labeled proteins with HSP60-specific antibody, it was shown that synthesis of the 64-kDa homologue of HSP60 is appreciably increased by heat shock only in the Malpighian tubules, which are already known to lack the common HSPs.
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  • 124
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    Journal of insect behavior 9 (1996), S. 329-338 
    ISSN: 1572-8889
    Keywords: Drosophila ; size-related sexual selection ; yeast diet
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Size-related sexual selection (SRSS) was examined on four traits (thorax and wing length and head and face width) inDrosophila buzzatii, by scoring male copulatory status in two mass-mating experiments. Using axenic females, experiment 1 was carried out with axenic males, and experiment 2 with yeast-supplemented males. While there was no indication of SRSS in experiment 1, such selection was substantial in yeast-supplemented males, which transmitted yeasts to mating females. Multivariate analyses of selection indicated that face width is the measured trait on which directional SRSS essentially acted in yeast-supplemented males, resulting in indirect selection on body size. Because this selection was affected by yeast diet in males, its possible interaction with the yeast transmission from males to females during the courtship is discussed.
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  • 125
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    Journal of insect behavior 9 (1996), S. 505-516 
    ISSN: 1572-8889
    Keywords: courtship ; female behavior ; signals ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Females of manyDrosophila species spread apart their wings prior to copulation. In the present study we found female wing spreading to provoke male copulation attempts inDrosophila virilis-group species, helping the males to attempt copulation when the female is ready to mate. The males of most species, however, rarely responded to female wing spreading by copulation attempt without licking the female genitalia before and/or after female wing spreading bout. Blocking the female genitalia (D. virilis, D. novamexicana) reduces males' tendency to attempt copulation after female wing spreading. In these, and most other species of the group, female wing spreading seems to be an efficient signal only when combined with stimuli from female genitalia.
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  • 126
    ISSN: 1572-8889
    Keywords: Drosophila ; behavior ; polymorphism ; parasitoid wasp ; host defense
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The selection response of the polymorphic hostD. melanogaster (Meigen) to the braconid waspA. tabida (Nees) is addressed. Cages of flies with and without wasps were initiated with a population ofD. melanogaster that exhibited variation both in larval foraging behavior and in encapsulation ability. Encapsulation ability was measured as the proportion of parasitized larvae that produce a hardened capsule which encapsulates the wasp egg and ultimately kills the wasp larva. We determined whether the host population changed its encapsulation ability and/or its foraging behavior in response to the wasp. Both species were collected from a local orchard whereA. tabida is the only wasp known to parasitizeD. melanogaster larvae. The naturally occurring genetic polymorphism for rover and sitter larval foraging behavior inD. melanogaster is also found in this field population.A. tabida's vibrotactic search behavior enables it to detect rover more frequently than sitter larvae. Rover larvae move significantly more while feeding than do sitter larvae. In this field population, rover larvae also show higher encapsulation abilities than do sitter larvae. Six cage populations, three without wasps and three with wasps, each containing an equal mixture of rover and sitter flies, were established in the laboratory and maintained for 19 fly generations. Selection pressure in the laboratory was similar to that found in the field population from which the flies and wasps were derived. We found that larvae from cages with wasps developed a significantly higher frequency of encapsulation than those reared without wasps. We were, however, unable to detect a change in larval movement (rover or sitter behavior) in larvae from cages subject to selection from wasps compared to larvae from cages containing no wasps. This may have resulted from a balance between two selective forces, selection against rovers by the wasps' use of vibrotaxis, and selection for rovers resulting from their increased encapsulation abilities
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  • 127
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    Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes 28 (1996), S. 379-385 
    ISSN: 1573-6881
    Keywords: Development ; gap junctions ; mouse embryos ; Drosophila ; connexin 43 ; transgenic mouse ; neural tube defects ; neural crest cells
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology , Physics
    Notes: Abstract In most developmental systems, gap junction-mediated cell-cell communication (GJC) can be detected from very early stages of embryogenesis. This usually results in the entire embryo becoming linked as a syncytium. However, as development progresses, GJC becomes restricted at discrete boundaries, leading to the subdivision of the embryo into communication compartment domains. Analysis of gap junction gene expression suggests that this functional subdivision of GJC may be mediated by the differential expression of the connexin gene family. The temporal-spatial pattern of connexin gene expression during mouse embryogenesis is highly suggestive of a role for gap junctions in inductive interactions, being regionally restricted in distinct developmentally significant domains. Using reverse genetic approaches to manipulate connexin gene function, direct evidence has been obtained for the connexin 43 (Cx43) gap junction gene playing a role in mammalian development. The challenges in the future are the identification of the target cell populations and the cell signaling processes in which Cx43-mediated cell-cell interactions are critically required in mammalian development. Our preliminary observations suggest that neural crest cells may be one such cell population.
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  • 128
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    Chromosome research 4 (1996), S. 185-190 
    ISSN: 1573-6849
    Keywords: sex chromosome evolution ; dosage compensation ; Drosophila ; histone acetylation ; X chromosome
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract In polytene chromosome squashes from the fruit flyDrosophila melanogaster, the single, dosage-compensated X chromosome in males can be distinguished from the autosomes by the presence of an isoform of histone H4 acetylated at lysine 16, H4.Ac16. We have used H4.Ac16 as a marker to examine the evolving relationship between dosage compensation and sex chromosome composition in species ofDrosophila with one (D. melanogaster), two (D. pseudoobscura) or three (D. miranda) identifiable X chromosome arms. In each case, we find that H4.Ac16 is distributed as discrete, closely spaced bands along the entire length of each X chromosome, the only exception being the X2 chromosome ofD. miranda in which a terminal region constituting about 10% of the chromosome by length is not labelled with anti-H4.Ac16 antibodies. We conclude that, with this exception, dosage compensation extends along the X chromosomes of all three species. AsD. pseudoobscura andD. miranda diverged only about 2 Mya, the spread of dosage-compensated loci along X2 has been rapid, suggesting that regional changes rather than piecemeal, gene-by-gene, changes may have been involved.
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  • 129
    ISSN: 1439-1104
    Keywords: slowpoke ; potassium channels ; synaptic transmission ; Drosophila ; excitable membranes ; genetic analysis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Potassium channels control the repolarization of nerve terminals and thus play important roles in the control of synaptic transmission. Here we describe the effects of mutations in theslowpoke gene, which is the structural gene for a calcium activated potassium channel, on transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction inDrosophila melanogaster. Surprisingly, we find that theslowpoke mutant exhibits reduced transmitter release compared to normal. Similarly, theslowpoke mutation significantly suppresses the increased transmitter release conferred either by a mutation inShaker or by application of 4-aminopyridine, which blocks theShaker-encoded potassium channel at theDrosophila nerve terminal. Furthermore, theslowpoke mutation suppresses the striking increase in transmitter release that occurs following application of 4-aminopyridine to theether a go-go mutant. This suppression is most likely the result of a reduction of Ca2+ influx into the nerve terminal in theslowpoke mutant. We hypothesize that the effects of theslowpoke mutation are indirect, perhaps resulting from increased Ca2+ channel inactivation, decreased Na+ or Ca2+ channel localization or gene expression, or by increases in the expression or activity of potassium channels distinct fromslowpoke.
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  • 130
    ISSN: 1573-3297
    Keywords: Mating behavior ; reproductive isolation ; sexual isolation ; semispecies ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Psychology
    Notes: Abstract Preadult seclusion imposed upon members of theDrosophila paulistorum complex of intersterile semispecies significantly decreased sexual isolation between adults of the semispecies. While seclusion at any developmental stage had this effect, there were quantitative variations correlated with the stage at which seclusion had been initiated: the earlier the stage at which seclusion began, the more frequent were the heterogamic matings. All the stages of development seemed to contribute to final adult sexual behavior, with no single stage emerging as the most important experiential phase. Seclusion also significantly affected intrasemispecific matings, in that flies were more likely to mate with partners having similar experiences.
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  • 131
    ISSN: 1573-3297
    Keywords: Mating behavior ; reproductive isolation ; sexual isolation ; semispecies ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Psychology
    Notes: Abstract We have been utilizing membres of theDrosophila paulistorum complex of semispecies to study the development of adult discriminatory behavior. In this study, three rearing methods were used to examine the effects of previous exposure to heterosemispecifics on reproductive isolation among the various semispecies. Experimental flies were exposed to heterosemispecifics by one of three methods: exposure to airborne heterosemispecific stimuli from egg through sexual maturity, physical contact with heterosemispecifics only during the postimaginal period, and mixed culturing (total physical contact with heterosemispecific individuals during each of five preimaginal stages). Effects of the first treatment varied with semispecies. The second treatment had no significant effect on mating behavior. The third treatment of mixed culturing reinforced sexual isolation.
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  • 132
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    Biochemical genetics 34 (1996), S. 201-218 
    ISSN: 1573-4927
    Keywords: Drosophila ; esterase 6 ; glycosylation ; mutagenesis ; reproduction
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Notes: Abstract The primary sequence of the esterase 6 (EST6) enzyme ofDrosophila melanogaster contains four potential N-linked glycosylation sites, at residues 21, 399, 435, and 485. Here we determine the extent to which EST6 is glycosylated and how the glycosylation affects the biochemistry and physiology of the enzyme. We have abolished each of the four potential glycosylation sites by replacing the required Asn residues with Gln byin vitro mutagenesis. Five mutant genes were made, four containing mutations of each site individually and the fifth site containing all four mutations. Germline transformation was used to introduce the mutant genes into a strain ofD. melanogaster null for EST6. Electrophoretic and Western blot comparisons of the mutant strains and wild-type controls showed that each of the four potential N-linked glycosylation sites in the wild-type protein is glycosylated. However, the fourth site is not utilized on all EST6 molecules, resulting in two molecular forms of the enzyme. Digestion with specific endoglycosidases showed that the glycan attached at the second site is of the high-mannose type, while the other three sites carry more complex oligosaccharides. The thermostability of the enzyme is not affected by abolition of the first, third, or fourth glycosylation sites but is reduced by abolition of the second site. Anomalously, abolition of all four sites together does not reduce thermostability. Quantitative comparisons of EST6 activities showed that abolition of glycosylation does not affect the secretion of the enzyme into the male sperm ejaculatory duct, its transfer to the female vagina during mating, or its subsequent translocation into her hemolymph. However, the activity of the mutant enzymes does not persist in the female's hemolymph for as long as wild-type esterase 6. The latter effect may compromise the role of the transferred enzyme in stimulating egg-laying and delaying receptivity to remating.
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    Biochemical genetics 34 (1996), S. 201-218 
    ISSN: 1573-4927
    Keywords: Drosophila ; esterase 6 ; glycosylation ; mutagenesis ; reproduction
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Notes: Abstract The primary sequence of the esterase 6 (EST6) enzyme ofDrosophila melanogaster contains four potential N-linked glycosylation sites, at residues 21, 399, 435, and 485. Here we determine the extent to which EST6 is glycosylated and how the glycosylation affects the biochemistry and physiology of the enzyme. We have abolished each of the four potential glycosylation sites by replacing the required Asn residues with Gln byin vitro mutagenesis. Five mutant genes were made, four containing mutations of each site individually and the fifth site containing all four mutations. Germline transformation was used to introduce the mutant genes into a strain ofD. melanogaster null for EST6. Electrophoretic and Western blot comparisons of the mutant strains and wild-type controls showed that each of the four potential N-linked glycosylation sites in the wild-type protein is glycosylated. However, the fourth site is not utilized on all EST6 molecules, resulting in two molecular forms of the enzyme. Digestion with specific endoglycosidases showed that the glycan attached at the second site is of the high-mannose type, while the other three sites carry more complex oligosaccharides. The thermostability of the enzyme is not affected by abolition of the first, third, or fourth glycosylation sites but is reduced by abolition of the second site. Anomalously, abolition of all four sites together does not reduce thermostability. Quantitative comparisons of EST6 activities showed that abolition of glycosylation does not affect the secretion of the enzyme into the male sperm ejaculatory duct, its transfer to the female vagina during mating, or its subsequent translocation into her hemolymph. However, the activity of the mutant enzymes does not persist in the female's hemolymph for as long as wild-type esterase 6. The latter effect may compromise the role of the transferred enzyme in stimulating egg-laying and delaying receptivity to remating.
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    Genetica 97 (1996), S. 33-37 
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: chromatin ; Drosophila ; epigenetic modification ; genomic imprinting ; position effeet variegation
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract During gametogenesis, chromosomes may become imprinted with information which facilitates proper expression of the DNA in offspring. We have used a position effect variegation mutant as a reporter system to investigate the possibility of imprinting inDrosophila melanogaster. Genetic crosses were performed in which the variegating gene and a strong modifier of variegation were present either within the same parental genome or in opposite parental genomes in all possible combinations. Our results indicate that the presence of the variegating chromosome and a modifier chromosome in the same parental genome can alter the amount of variegation formed in progeny. The genomic imprinting we observed is not determined by the parental origin of the variegating chromosome but is instead determined by the genetic background the variegating chromosome is subjected to during gametogenesis.
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  • 135
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: complementary factors ; Drosophila ; hybrid male ; inviability
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract In hybrids between the sibling species D. buzzatii and D. koepferae, both sexes are more or less equally viable in the F1: However, backcross males to D. buzzatii are frequently inviable, apparently because of interspecific genetic incompatibilities that are cryptic in the F1. We have performed a genetic dissection of the effects of the X chromosome from D. koepferae. We found only two cytological regions, termed hmi-1 and hmi-2, altogether representing 9% of the whole chromosome, which when introgressed into D. buzzatii cause inviability of hybrid males. Observation of the pattern of asynapsis of polytene chromosomes (incomplete pairing, marking introgressed material) in females and segregation analyses were the technique used to infer the X chromosome regions responsible for this hybrid male inviability. The comparison of these results with those previously obtained with the same technique for hybrid male sterility in this same species pair indicate that in the X chromosome of D. koepferae there are at least seven times more regions that produce hybrid male sterility than hybrid male inviability. We have also found that the inviability brought about by the introgression of hmi-1 is suppressed by the cointrogression of two autosomal sections from D. koepferae. Apparently, these three regions conform to a system of species-specific complementary factors involved in an X-autosome interaction that, when disrupted in backcross hybrids by recombination with the genome of its sibling D. buzzatii, brings about hybrid male inviability.
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  • 136
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Gpdh ; allozyme ; Drosophila ; DNA sequence
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Six naturally occurring but rare alleles of sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Gpdh) in Drosophila melanogaster have been investigated in this study. They all belong to a class of Gpdh UF (ultra-fast) alleles, because their electrophoretic mobilities are faster than that of the Gpdh F (fast) allele. The Gpdh UF variants are widespread, and have been reported from five continents. DNA sequence analysis has shown that the change in electrophoretic mobility was in each allele caused by a single amino acid residue substitution in the encoded protein. In the Xiamen UF allele it is a substitution of lysine (AAA) to asparagine (AAT) in exon 1 (residue 3). An asparagine (AAT) to aspartate (GAT) change was found in exon 6 (residue 336) in the Iowa UF and Netherlands UF alleles. The mobility of the Raleigh UF allele was altered by a valine (GTG) to glutamate (GAG) substitution in exon 3 (residue 76). Two mutations were detected in the Brazzaville UF allele: a lysine (AAG) to methionine (ATG) substitution in exon 2 (residue 68) is responsible for the ultra-fast phenotype of this variant, while a tyrosine (TAT) to phenylalanine (TTT) substitution in exon 4 (residue 244) is not expected to alter the electrophoretic mobility of the encoded protein. These results indicate that the Gpdh UF alleles originate from different mutational events, and only two of them — Iowa UF and Netherlands UF — might share a common ancestry. The GPDH activity of the Iowa UF allele is intermediate between those of the Gpdh S and Gpdh F control stocks. The other Gpdh UF variants have lower activities than the controls: Xiamen UF -83%, Raleigh UF -80% and Brazzaville UF -73% of the Gpdh F control.
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  • 137
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: age-specific mortality ; density ; Drosophila ; two-stage Gompertz
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Age-specific mortality rates were studied at two adult density levels in four inbred lines of Drosophila melanogaster. In experimental populations, adult densities were maintained at constant levels throughout the experiment by replacing dead flies with live, marked mutants. In control populations, densities declined naturally as the cohorts aged. For all experimental populations the best mortality model is the two-stage Gompertz model, with slower mortality acceleration at older ages. Flies in the experimental populations generally lived longer than flies in control populations, regardless of sex, genotype, or initial density level. The data demonstrate that deceleration of age-specific mortality rates at older ages is not caused by declining cohort densities. Mortality deceleration is a real phenomenon that raises serious questions about the evolution of senescence.
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 250 (1996), S. 635-646 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Acid phosphatase ; Lysosomes ; Evolution
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract InDrosophila, unlike humans, the lysosomal acid phosphatase (Acph-1) is a non-essential enzyme. It is also one of the most rapidly evolving gene-enzyme systems in the genus. In order to determine which parts of the enzyme are conserved and which parts are apparently under little functional constraint, we cloned the gene fromDrosophila melanogaster via a chromosomal walk. Fragments from the gene were used to recover an apparently full-length cDNA. The cDNA was subcloned into aDrosophila transformation vector where it was under the control of the 5′ promoter sequence of thehsp-70 gene. Three independent transformants were obtained; in each, Acph-1 expression from the cDNA was constitutive and not dependent on heat shock, as determined by densitometric analyses of the allozymic forms of the enzyme. The pattern of expression indicates thehsp-70 and endogenousAcph-1 promoters act together in some, but not all, tissues. The sequence of the cDNA was determined using deletions made with exonuclease III, and primers deduced from the cDNA sequence were used to sequence the genomic clone. Five introns were found, and putative 5′ up-stream regulatory sequences were identified. Amino acid sequence comparisons have revealed several highly conserved motifs betweenDrosophila Acph-1 and vertebrate lysosomal and prostatic acid phosphatases.
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    Development genes and evolution 204 (1995), S. 330-335 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; top mutation ; DER gene ; Histoblast nests ; Morphogenesis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract TheDrosophila homolog of the vertebrate EGF receptor (DER) gene is encoded by thetorpedo (top) locus. We examined the role oftop in the development and differentiation of the integument of the adult abdomen ofDrosophila, by analysing these processes in transheterozygotes of twotop alleles. The mutation, when compared to the wild type, affected mitosis, spreading and differentiation of adult epidermal cells derived from the various histoblast and spiracular nests. Our observations indicate that the need for wild-typetop gene product becomes critical after pupation, and the requirement continues throughout the rest of adult development for the normal morphogenesis of the abdominal integument and spiracles.
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  • 140
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Extramacrochaetae ; Pattern formation ; Sensory bristle positioning
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We examine the effect of mutations in theextramacrochaetae (emc) gene on the positioning of macrochaetes on the notum ofDrosophila. We show that, inemc mutants, most of the precursor cells appear earlier than in wild-type individuals, consistent with an antagonizing effect ofemc on the action of the proneural genesachaete andscute. We also show that reducingemc function affects the position of three bristles and/or of their precursors, but has no marked effect on the positioning of the other bristles.
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  • 141
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Steroids ; Glucocorticoids ; Embryogenesis ; Amnioserosa
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We have investigated the effects of the glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, and five structural analogs on Drosophila development in an effort to identify steroid ligands that may play a role in the embryogenesis of this organism. Embryos were exposed to glucocorticoids either by direct culture in supplemented medium, or by examining embryos from adult flies raised on supplemented fly food. After exposure, embryos were examined for developmental defects. At a morphological level, exposure to dexamethasone disrupts the dorsolateral folding of the amnioserosa during germ band extension. In addition, germ band retraction and dorsal closure is also disrupted. The phenocritical period of these effects is within the first 4 h of embryogenesis. This response is dosage sensitive, with embryos responding to concentrations of dexamethasone ranging from 10−6 to 10−3M. Furthermore, glucocorticoids which are closely related structural analogs of dexamethasone also disrupt germ band retraction and dorsal closure, while other tested steroids had no effect on embryonic development. At a molecular level, expression of the gene, Krüppel, is absent from the amnioserosa of dexamethasone-treated embryos. The cuticular phenocopy resulting from exposure to dexamethasone and related glucocorticoids is morphologically similar to the mutant phenotype associated with four genes required for germ band retraction, namely hindsight, serpent, tail-up and u-shaped. The results of this study represent the first association of a glucocorticoid with dose, stage and tissue specific effects on Drosophila development at both morphological and molecular levels.
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  • 142
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Positional information ; Polar coordinate model ; Enhancer trap ; Imaginal disc ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We have isolated three classes of “enhancertrap” lines of Drosophila in which lacZ expression patterns in the imaginal discs are consistent with the idea of a polar (radial and angular) coordinate system of positional information. In the first class (HZ76), a circular pattern was expressed transiently during the mid-third instar larval stage when the radial components of the coordinate are probably generated. The expression patterns of the second class (HZ84) were sector-shaped and circular in the leg disc, suggesting a correlation with both radial and angular coordinate values. The expression patterns found in the third class (PZ63 and PZ22) were circular and appeared to reflect radial positional values. Expression in the latter two classes always began in the presumptive dorsal region of the leg disc and gradually spread to the ventral region. These developmental profiles of expression suggested the existence of a centre that initiates patterned gene expression in the presumptive dorsal region of the leg disc. The PZ22 line showed transient expression during tarsal segmentation, suggesting its involvement in tarsal segment formation. We have cloned the PZ22 gene and partially determined its sequence. The deduced amino acid sequence contained a zinc finger motif found in DNA/RNA binding proteins. By in situ hybridization, we determined that the PZ22 gene was transcribed in the leg disc in a pattern identical to that of the lacZ expression. In addition, it was expressed transiently in the embryonic mesoderm during mesoderm segmentation. The PZ22 gene, therefore, may function both in mesodermal segmentation in the embryo and in tarsal segmentation in the imaginal disc.
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  • 143
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Head development ; Segmentation mutants ; Nervous system ; Optic lobe
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We describe the development of 20 sensory organs in the embryonic Drosophila head, which give rise to 7 sensory nerves of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), and 4 ganglia of the stomatogastric nervous system (SNS). Using these neural elements and the optic lobes as well as expression domains of the segment polarity gene engrailed in the wild-type head of Drosophila embryos as markers we examined the phenotype of different mutants which lack various and distinct portions of the embryonic head. In the mutants, distinct neural elements and engrailed expression domains, serving as segmental markers, are deleted. These mutants also affect the optic lobes to various degrees. Our results suggest that the optic lobes are of segmental origin and that they derive from the ocular segment anteriorly adjacent to the antennal segment of the developing head.
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    Development genes and evolution 205 (1995), S. 160-170 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Evolution ; fz ; Homeodomain ; Plasticity
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The Drosophila melanogaster segmentation gene fushi tarazu (ftz) encodes a homeodomain-type transcription factor involved in the control of larval pattern formation. Loss of function mutations cause an embryonic lethal, pair-rule phenotype. The segmentation defects, but not the lethality, can be partially rescued by the ftz orthologue from Drosophila hydei. In this work, the primary structure, expression and regulation of the D. hydei ftz gene was characterized. Sequence comparisons classify ftz as a rather fast evolving gene. However, since the homeodomain of the D. hydei FTZ protein is highly similar to that of D. melanogaster, proper regulation of D. melanogaster ftz downstream genes would be expected. In D. melanogaster embryos, a D. hydei ftz transgene is expressed normally, independent of endogenous ftz gene activity, suggesting that D. hydei ftz regulatory sequences are correctly recognized by D. melanogaster transcription factors. Accordingly, lacZ fusion constructs driven by the D. hydei ftz upstream element are expressed normally in D. melanogaster embryos. Altogether, the similarities between the two ftz orthologues by far outweigh the differences. The limited success of the trans-species rescue might be, therefore, a consequence of the accumulation of too many subtle changes in gene function, exceeding the limits of developmental plasticity during fly embryogenesis.
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    Development genes and evolution 205 (1995), S. 62-72 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Antennal lobe ; Cell division ; euroblasts ; BrdU incorporation ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The adult antennal lobe of Drosophila melanogaster emerges from a precursor, the larval antennal lobe. Pulse and pulse-chase labelling of dividing cells in larvae and pupae with bromodeoxyuridine confirmed previous data that some of the interneurons of the adult antennal lobe derive from a lateral neuroblast which starts to divide early in the first larval instar. However, the majority of these interneurons originate from neuroblasts that initiate mitosis at later stages, with a peak of about 10–12 pairs of dividing neuroblasts in the late third larval instar. No clustering of adult antennal lobe neurons according to their birthdates was observed. In contrast to neurons, terminal divisions of glia in the antennal lobe reach their maximum only 12 h after puparium formation.
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  • 146
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Brachyury ; Trg ; Hindgut ; Proctodeum ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The proctodeum of the Drosophila embryo originates from the posterior end of the blastoderm and forms the hindgut. By enhancer-trap mutagenesis, using a P-element-lacZ vector, we identified a mutation that caused degeneration of the proctodeum during shortening of the germ band and named it aproctous (apro). Expression of the lacZ reporter gene, which was assumed to represent expression of the apro gene, began at the cellular blastoderm stage in a ring that encompassed about 10–15% of the egg's length (EL) and included the future proctodeum, anal pads, and posterior-most part of the visceral mesoderm. In later stages, strong expression of lacZ was detected in the developing hindgut and anal pads. Expression continued in the anal pads and epithelium of the hindgut of larvae; the epithelium of the hindgut of the adult fly also expressed lacZ. The spatial patterns of the expression of lacZ in various mutants suggested that the embryonic expression of apro was regulated predominantly by two gap genes, tailless (tll) and huckebein (hkb): tll is necessary for the activation of apro, while hkb suppressed the expression of apro in the region posterior to 10% EL. Cloning and sequencing of the apro cDNA revealed that apro was identical to the T-related gene (Trg) that is a Drosophila homolog of the vertebrate Brachyury gene. apro appears to play a key role in the development of tissues derived from the proctodeum.
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  • 147
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Mini-white reporter gene ; Teashirt ; Engrailed ; Wingless
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Developmental expression of transduced mini-white(w) gene of Drosophila is sensitive to its flanking genomic enhancers. Taking advantage of this phenomenon, we mobilized a P lacW transposon and screened for new transposant lines which showed patterned expression of the mini-w gene in adult eyes. From a screen of about 1,000 independent P lacW transposant lines on the second chromosome, we identified 7 lines which showed patterned w expression in adult eyes. These P insertions were assigned to engrailed, wingless and teashirt genes based on their chromosomal locations, developmental expression of the lacZ reporter gene, lethal embryonic mutant phenotypes and, finally, their failure to complement the lethal alleles of the respective genetic loci. Our results show that although only a small fraction of the total transposant lines displayed patterned w expression, the genetic loci thus identified are those which play essential roles in pattern formation. Scopes of screens for genetic loci based on w reporter gene expression in adult eyes are discussed.
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  • 148
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Central nervous system ; Glia GAL4 enhancer trap ; Classification
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract To facilitate the investigation of glial development inDrosophila, we present a detailed description of theDrosophila glial cells in the ventral nerve cord. A GAL4 enhancer-trap screen for glial-specific expression was performed. Using UAS-lacZ and UAS-kinesin-lacZ as reporter constructs, we describe the distribution and morphology of the identified glial cells in the fully differentiated ventral nerve cord of first-instar larvae just after hatching. The three-dimensional structure of the glial network was reconstructed using a computer. Using the strains with consistent GAL4 expression during late embryogenesis, we traced back the development of the identified cells to provide a glial map at embryonic stage 16. We identify typically 60 (54–64) glial cells per abdominal neuromere both in embryos and early larvae. They are divided into six subtypes under three categories: surface-associated glia (16–18 subperineurial glial cells and 6–8 channel glial cells), cortex-associated glia (6–8 cell body glial cells), and neuropile-associated glia (8–10 nerve root glial cells, 14–16 interface glial cells, and 3–4 midline glial cells). The proposed glial classification system is discussed in comparison with previous insect glial classifications.
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  • 149
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    Development genes and evolution 204 (1995), S. 259-270 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Ig-like domains ; Cell adhesion ; Peripheral and central nervous system ; Muscles ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The Drosophila neuromusculin (nrm) gene encodes an immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) cell adhesion molecule expressed in the precursors of the embryonic peripheral nervous system (PNS), in the midline precursors of the central nervous system (CNS), and in muscles. During the initial phases of CNS axonogenesis, nrm is expressed in cells involved in the development of commissures and longitudinal tracts. Mutations which alter expression of nrm mRNAs cause aberrant development of commissures and longitudinal axon pathways. Defects in the PNS and muscles of nrm mutants are also observed. In most nrm embryos, abnormal development can be detected in a subset of abdominal segments; however, in approximately 1 of 10 nrm embryos, the defects extend to all segments. Herein, we present evidence that nrm plays an important role in early morphogenesis, possibly by mediating or facilitating inductive cell contacts and movements.
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  • 150
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Evolution ; Expression patterns ; α-Amylase ; Glucose repression ; Starch induction ; Intra- and interspecific variation ; Drosophila ; Gene expression ; Regulatory genes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Intraspecific variation of α-amylase activity in D. melanogaster and D. immigrans, which is distantly related to D. melanogaster, and interspecific variation of α-amylase activity in 18 Drosophila species were examined. The amount of intraspecific variation of α-amylase activities measured in terms of coefficient of variation in D. melanogaster and D. immigrans was one-half and one-tenth or less, respectively, of the interspecific variation in 18 Drosophila species. We also surveyed the response patterns of α-amylase activity to dietary carbohydrates at the larval and adult stages. The levels of α-amylase activity depended on both repression by dietary glucose (glucose repression) and induction by dietary starch (starch induction). In general, our data suggest that glucose repression was conserved among species at both stages while starch induction was mainly observed in larvae, although the degree of the response depended on species. In D. lebanonensis lebanonensis and D. serrata, larvae expressed electrophoretically different α-amylase variants (isozymes) from those of adult flies. These results may suggest that the regulatory systems responsible both for the response to environment and developmental expression are different among species in Drosophila.
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  • 151
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Two-dimensional electrophoresis ; Gonadal protein divergence ; Postzygotic reproductive isolation ; Speciation ; Hybrid sterility
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The possible association between gonadal protein divergence and postzygotic reproductive isolation was investigated among species of the Drosophila melanogaster and D. virilis groups. Protein divergence was scored by high-resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE). Close to 500 protein spots from gonadal tissues (testis and ovary) and nongonadal tissues (malpighian tubules and brain) were analyzed and protein divergence was calculated based on presence vs absence. Both testis and ovary proteins showed higher divergence than nongonadal proteins, and also a highly significant positive correlation with postzygotic reproductive isolation but a weaker correlation with prezygotic reproductive isolation. Particularly, a positive and significant correlation was found between proteins expressed in the testis and postzygotic reproductive isolation among closely related species such as the within-phylad species in the D. virilis group. The high levels of male-reproductive-tract protein divergence between species might be associated with F1 hybrid male sterility among closely related species. If so, a lower level of ovary protein divergence should be expected on the basis that F1 female hybrids are fully fertile. However, this is not necessarily true if relatively few genes are responsible for the reproductive isolation observed between closely related species, as recent studies seem to suggest. We suggest that the faster rate of evolution of gonadal proteins in comparison to nongonadal proteins and the association of that rate with postzygotic reproductive isolation may be the result of episodic and/or sexual selection on male and female molecular traits.
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  • 152
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 615-621 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Ribosomal genes ; Sequence data
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We compare the 5S gene structure from nine Drosophila species. New sequence data (5S genes of D. melanogaster, D. mauritiana, D. sechellia, D. yakuba, D. erecta, D. orena, and D. takahashii) and already-published data (5S genes of D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. teissieri) are used in these comparisons. We show that four regions within the Drosophila 5S genes display distinct rates of evolution: the coding region (120 bp), the 5′-flanking region (54–55 bp), the 3′-flanking region (21–22 bp), and the internal spacer (149–206 bp). Intra- and interspecific heterogeneity is due mainly to insertions and deletions of 6–17-bp oligomers. These small rearrangements could be generated by fork slippages during replication and could produce rapid sequence divergence in a limited number of steps.
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  • 153
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    Journal of molecular evolution 41 (1995), S. 1152-1159 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Synonymous substitutions ; Nonsynonymous substitutions ; Estimation methods ; Confidence intervals ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A method for estimating the numbers of synonymous (Ks) and nonsynonymous (Ka) substitutions per site is proposed. The method is based on the Li's (J Mol. Evol. 36:96–99, 1993) and Pamilo and Bianchi's (Mol. Biol. Evol. 10:271–281, 1993) method, but a putative source of bias is solved. It is proposed that the number of synonymous substitutions that are actually transitions or transversions should be computed by separating the twofold degenerate sites into two types of sites, 2S-fold and 2V-fold, where only transitional and transversional substitutions are synonymous, respectively. Kimura's (J. Mol. Evol. 16:111–120, 1980) two-parameter correcting method for multiple substitutions at a site is then applied using the overall observed synonymous transversion frequency to estimate both the numbers of synonymous transversional (Bs) and transitional (As) substitutions per site. This approach, therefore, also minimizes stochastic errors. Computer simulations indicate that the method presented gives more accurate Ks and Ka estimates than the aforementioned methods. Furthermore, the obtention of confidence intervals for divergence estimates by computer simulation is proposed.
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  • 154
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Gene structure ; Heat shock ; hsp70 ; Antiparallel ORFs ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract A clone isolated from a Drosophila auraria heat-shock cDNA library presents two long, antiparallel, coupled (LAC) open reading frames (ORFs). One strand ORF is 1,929 nucleotides long and exhibits great identity (87.5% at the nucleotide level and 94% at the amino acid level) with the hsp70 gene copies of D. melanogaster, while the second strand ORF, in antiparallel in-frame register arrangement, is 1,839 nucleotides long and exhibits 32% identity with a putative, recently identified, NAD+-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NAD+-GDH). The overlap of the two ORFs is 1,824 nucleotides long. Computational analysis shows that this LAC ORF arrangement is conserved in other hsp70 loci in a wide range of organisms, raising questions about possible evolutionary benefits of such a peculiar genomic organization.
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  • 155
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    Invertebrate neuroscience 1 (1995), S. 3-13 
    ISSN: 1439-1104
    Keywords: exocytosis ; synaptic vesicles ; neurotransmitter release ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Neuronal communication involves the fusion of neurotransmitter filled synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic terminal. This exocytotic event depends upon proteins present in three separate compartments: the synaptic vesicle, the synaptic cytosol, and the presynaptic membrane. Recent data indicate that the basic components of exocytotic pathways, including those used for neurotransmitter release, are conserved from yeast to human. Genetic dissection of the secretory pathway in yeast, identification of the target proteins cleaved by the clostridial neurotoxins and biochemical characterization of the interactions of synaptic proteins from vertebrates have converged to provide the SNARE (soluble NSF attachment protein receptor) hypothesis for vesicle trafficking. This model proposes that proteins present in the vesicle (v-SNAREs) interact with membrane receptors (t-SNAREs) to provide a molecular scaffold for cytosolic proteins involved in fusion. The hypothesis that these mechanisms function at the synapse relies largely uponin vitro evidence. Recently, genetic approaches in mice, C.elegans and the fruitfly,Drosophila melanagaster, have been used to dissect thein vivo function of numerous proteins involved in synaptic transmission. This review covers recent progress and insights provided by a genetic dissection of neurotransmitter release inDrosophila. In addition, we will provide evidence that the mechanisms for synaptic communication are highly conserved from invertebrates to vertebrates, makingDrosophila an ideal model system to further unravel the intricacies of synaptic transmission.
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  • 156
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    Invertebrate neuroscience 1 (1995), S. 25-31 
    ISSN: 1439-1104
    Keywords: Drosophila ; GABA receptors ; insecticide resistance ; cyclodiene insecticides ; immunocytochemistry
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Following our recent cloning of a novel γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit geneResistance to dieldrin orRdl from the cyclodiene resistance locus inDrosophila melanogaster, we were interested in defining its pattern of expression during development. Here we report the raising of an anti-Rdl polyclonal antibody that recognizes a single protein of the expected 65 kDa size in immunoblots ofDrosophila head homogenates.In situ hybridization usingRdl cDNA probes and the anti-Rdl antibody shows thatRdl message and protein are highly expressed in the developing central nervous system (CNS) of 15–17 h embryos. Interestingly, despite the use of GABA in both the peripheral and CNS of insects,Rdl GABA receptor subunits appear to be confined to the CNS. Detailed immunocytochemistry ofDrosophila brain sections showed particularly strong anti-Rdl antibody staining in the optic lobes, ellipsoid body, fan shaped body, ventrolateral protocerebrum and the glomeruli of the antennal lobes. Results are compared with the distribution of staining observed in the insect CNS with antibodies against GABA itself and synaptotagmin, a synaptic vesicle protein.
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  • 157
    ISSN: 1440-1703
    Keywords: diapause ; Drosophila ; feeding activity ; locomotor activity ; reproduction
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Feeding, reproductive and locomotor activities of fourDrosophila species were studied under short and long daylengths at 15°C. A short daylength induced firm reproductive diapause in experimental strains ofD. subauraria andD. triauraria from northern Japan, but very shallow diapause in those ofD. lutescens andD. rufa from southern Japan. A subtropical strain ofD. triauraria had no diapause. The influence of diapause on feeding activity was detected only in aged (〉 12 day old) females; that is, the feeding activity was lower in diapausing females than in non-diapausing ones. Females that do not produce eggs would not require so much energy. On the other hand, young adults of the study species exhibited a high feeding activity and rapidly increased bodyweight irrespective of sex and the diapause state. They would need nutrition to build up their adult body. In males, the feeding activity decreased with age irrespective of the diapause state. Males would not require so much energy for reproductive activity. Diapausing males became heavier than non-diapausing males, perhaps because they accumulated triacylglycerols in fat bodies. However, female bodyweight did not differ by the diapause state, perhaps because diapausing females accumulated triacylglycerols and reproducing females had eggs in their ovaries. InD. triauraria, diapausing individuals exhibited somewhat lower locomotor activity than non-diapausing ones.
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  • 158
    ISSN: 1476-5535
    Keywords: Yeasts ; Drosophila ; Community ecology ; Cacti ; Tree-fluxes
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
    Notes: Summary Intestinal yeast mycobiota were studied in 14 species ofDrosophila and in the drosophilid speciesChymomyza amoena, captured at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario. Over 56 yeast species, some undescribed, were isolated. These yeast communities were compared with those from two similar surveys conducted in western portions of North America. The community structures were influenced significantly by the habitat rather than phylogeny of the flies. Geographic separation was a factor affecting yeast taxa frequencies in the fly species, but it was largely overshadowed by ecological factors when the communities were described physiologically. The notion that habitats are filled by yeasts which add up to a suitable physiological potential, more or less independently of their taxonomic affinities, was thus confirmed.
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  • 159
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    Genetica 96 (1995), S. 225-234 
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: antagonistic pleiotropy ; Drosophila ; mutation accumulation ; senescence
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Natural populations host a wealth of genetic variation in longevity and age-specific schedules of reproduction. This variation provides critical information for inferring the evolutionary origin of senescence. Patterns of mutational effects on age-specific fecundity and survival provide additional insight to distinguish alternative models of senescence. In this study,P-elements bearing thewhite minigene were inserted at random into a common genetic background, generating lines ofD. melanogaster with single, stable transposon inserts. A series of 48 single-P-element lines revealed statistically significant heterogeneity in both longevity and fecundity. Longevity and early fecundity were only weakly positively correlated (r=0.286,P=0.0398). Both the pooled sample and 30 of the individual lines exhibited a leveling of age-specific mortality at advanced ages, in opposition to the classical demographic models. To the extent that these mutational effects are representative of naturally-occurring mutations in heterogeneous populations, this result presents a problem for the evolutionary theory of senescence. Natural selection is inefficient at removing deleterious mutations that are expressed only at late ages, and selection may not differentiate between mutations whose effects on longevity are post-reproductive. A leveling of the mortality rate would also be seen if mutations whose expression is delayed until very late simply do not occur. A simulation of mutation-selection balance among the 48P-element tagged lines shows that the mean longevity declines monotonically with increasing mutation rate, consistent with the mutation-accumulation model.
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  • 160
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; F-statistics ; genetic distance ; genetic drift ; habitat ; population structure ; selection
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The level of enzyme polymorphism was compared in tenDrosophila melanogaster populations collected in farmyards and distilleries in two regions of Hungary. The total genetic diversity was partitioned into between-and within-population components at each investigated locus using Wright's F-statistics. Population differentiation was studied in two different ways. Genetic distances between pairs of populations were calculated and a hierarchical analysis of gene diversity was performed. Based on the F values gene flow was estimated among the populations at different levels of the hierarchy. The results indicated that our ‘farmyard populations’ collected within a region could be considered as parallel samples from a panmictic population rather than samples of distinct populations. In distilleries, the flies might be influenced by two different evolutionary forces: (i) selection due to the extremely high concentration of ethanol in the fermenting mash and (ii) genetic drift due to the combination of repeated founder effects and fluctuating population size. Our results suggested that ‘distillery populations’ could not be regarded as real populations either. They could be considered as peculiar cases: founder individuals taken from the total population (region) established special populations which survived in the distilleries for many generations. Thus the dominating force acting on the ‘distillery populations’ was genetic drift.
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    Journal of comparative physiology 176 (1995), S. 355-364 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Giant fiber ; Escape Olfactory ; Flight
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We have monitored the patterns of activation of five muscles during flight initiation of Drosophila melanogaster: the tergotrochanteral muscle (a mesothoracic leg extensor), dorsal longitudinal muscles #3, #4 and #6 (wing depressors), and dorsal ventral muscle #Ic (a wing elevator). Stimulation of a pair of large descending interneurons, the giant fibers, activates these muscles in a stereotypic pattern and is thought to evoke escape flight initiation. To investigate the role of the giant fibers in coordinating flight initiation, we have compared the patterns of muscle activation evoked by giant fiber stimulation with those during flight initiations executed voluntarily and evoked by visual and olfactory stimuli. Visually elicited flight initiations exhibit patterns of muscle activation indistinguishable from those evoked by giant fiber stimulation. Olfactory-induced flight initiations exhibit patterns of muscle activation similar to those during voluntary flight initiations. Yet only some benzaldehyde-induced and voluntary flight initiations exhibit patterns of muscle activation similar to those evoked by giant fiber stimulation. These results indicate that visually elicited flight initiations are coordinated by the giant fiber circuit. By contrast, the giant fiber circuit alone cannot account for the patterns of muscle activation observed during the majority of olfactory-induced and voluntary flight initiations.
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  • 162
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Ligand-gated channel ; Chloride channel ; Histamine ; Drosophila ; Visual ecology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The large monopolar cells (LMCs) of the first optic neuropil (lamina) in insects respond to the photoreceptor neurotransmitter histamine with an increase in chloride conductance. We have compared the properties of this conductance from a range of diptera from different visual environments: Tipula paludosa (slow flying, crepuscular), Drosophila melanogaster (slow-flying diurnal), and 3 fast-flying diurnal species Musca domestica, Calliphora vicina and Lucilia sericata. In whole-cell recordings of dissociated LMCs, histamine-induced currents were elicited using a multichannel parallel perfusion device, allowing rapid determination of the dose-response function, characterised by affinity (K d) and Hill coefficient (n). Calliphora, Lucilia and Musca had the steepest dose response curves (n = 2.8) and the lowest affinity for histamine (K d 35–50 μM); the crepuscular Tipula had a significantly higher affinity (K d = 16 μM) and lower Hill coefficient (n = 1.8). Drosophila had a high affinity (K d 24 μM), and a high Hill coefficient (n = 2.5). In excised inside-out patch recordings all species showed similar single channel properties (conductance 40–60 pS, mean open time 〈 1 ms). The low Hill coefficient in Tipula would be expected to result in lower synaptic gain. We suggest this may be an adaptation to prevent the LMC's response bandwidth being filled with the high levels of photon noise typical of photoreceptors adapted for low light levels. The lower affinity for histamine found in the more photopic species suggests that the concentration of histamine (and therefore presumably number of synaptic vesicles released from the photoreceptors) should be higher. This might improve signal-to-noise ratio by decreasing the contribution of the shot event noise introduced by stochastic release of synaptic vesicles.
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  • 163
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Ligand-gated channel ; Chloride channel ; Histamine ; Drosophila ; Visual ecology
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The large monopolar cells (LMCs) of the first optic neuropil (lamina) in insects respond to the photoreceptor neurotransmitter histamine with an increase in chloride conductance. We have compared the properties of this conductance from a range of diptera from different visual environments:Tipula paludosa (slow flying, crepuscular),Drosophila melanogaster (slow-flying diurnal), and 3 fast-flying diurnal speciesMusca domestica,Calliphora vicina andLucilia sericata. In whole-cell recordings of dissociated LMCs, histamine-induced currents were elicited using a multichannel parallel perfusion device, allowing rapid determination of the dose-response function, characterised by affinity (K d) and Hill coefficient (n).Calliphora,Lucilia andMusca had the steepest dose response curves (n = 2.8) and the lowest affinity for histamine (K d 35–50 μM); the crepuscularTipula had a significantly higher affinity (K d = 16 μM) and lower Hill coefficient (n = 1.8).Drosophila had a high affinity (K d 24 μM), and a high Hill coefficient (n = 2.5). In excised inside-out patch recordings all species showed similar single channel properties (conductance 40–60 pS, mean open time 〈 1 ms). The low Hill coefficient inTipula would be expected to result in lower synaptic gain. We suggest this may be an adaptation to prevent the LMC's response bandwidth being filled with the high levels of photon noise typical of photoreceptors adapted for low light levels. The lower affinity for histamine found in the more photopic species suggests that the concentration of histamine (and therefore presumably number of synaptic vesicles released from the photoreceptors) should be higher. This might improve signal-to-noise ratio by decreasing the contribution of the shot event noise introduced by stochastic release of synaptic vesicles.
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    Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 76 (1995), S. 25-35 
    ISSN: 1570-7458
    Keywords: dispersal ; flight duration ; cactophilic ; Drosophila ; age effects ; body size
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The flight ability ofDrosophila aldrichi (Patterson & Crow) andD. buzzatii (Patterson & Wheeler) using tethered flights, was measured with respect to age-related changes, genetic variation and adult body size variation induced by rearing at different larval densities.Drosophila buzzatii flew for much longer thanD. aldrichi, especially females, but age-related changes in flight duration were significant only forD. aldrichi. Effects of body size on flight ability were significant inD. buzzatii, but not inD. aldrichi. InD. buzzatii, there was a significant genotype-environment interaction (larval density × line) for flight duration, with short and average flight duration isofemale lines showing longer flights, but a long flight duration line shorter flights as body size decreased (i.e., as larval density increased). Heritability estimates for flight duration were similar in the two species, but flight duration showed no significant genetic correlations with developmental time, body size or wing dimensions (except for one wing dimension inD. buzzatii). Although not significantly different between the species, heritabilities for life-history traits (adult size and developmental time) showed contrasting patterns — with higher heritability for body size (body weight and thorax length) inD. buzzatii, and higher for developmental time inD. aldrichi. In agreement with limited previous field evidence,D. buzzatii is better adapted for colonization than isD. aldrichi.
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  • 165
    ISSN: 1572-8773
    Keywords: metallothionein ; development ; metal induction ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Notes: Abstract Expression of the two Drosophila melanogaster metallothionein genes, Mtn and Mto, has been analyzed by in situ hybridization during post-embryonic development. Mtn and Mto transcripts were detected exclusively in the digestive tract of larvae, pupae and adults reared on standard medium. Mtn and Mto expression domains overlap, but each gene is also expressed at unique sites. Mtn mRNA levels are approximately 10 and 20 times higher than those of Mto in larvae and adults, respectively. Copper and cadmium ions strongly induce Mtn and Mto mRNA accumulation in the midgut. Zinc is a weaker inducer, acting only at high concentrations. Mtn gene expression is induced by these three metals in Malpighian tubules, while Mto gene expression in this organ is induced only by zinc. Iron is a poor inducer of metallothionein mRNA accumulation. Functions of MTN and MTO proteins in metal homeostasis and detoxification are considered.
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    Chromosome research 3 (1995), S. 255-260 
    ISSN: 1573-6849
    Keywords: chromatin ; confocal microscopy ; Drosophila ; karyoskeleton ; topoisomerase II
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Domain-specific anti-Drosophila DNA topoisomerase II antibodies were generated, affinity purified and used for confocal laser scanning immunofluorescence microscopy. Except for the nucleolus, DNA topoisomerase II is distributed throughout interphase nuclei. In adult accessory glands as well as third instar larval neural ganglion and imaginal disk nuclei, DNA topoisomerase II shows areas of co-localization with chromatin adjacent to areas of extrachromosomal distribution. These observations made in a variety of tissues under different fixation conditions and with a number of molecular probes support the notion that DNA topoisomerase II is a component of a substantially extrachromosomal network that functions to organize interphase chromatin within nuclei.
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    Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 68 (1995), S. 151-160 
    ISSN: 1572-9699
    Keywords: tequila ; fermentation ; agave ; yeast community ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Fresh and cooked agave,Drosophila spp., processing equipment, agave molasses, agave extract, and fermenting must at a traditional tequila distillery (Herradura, Amatitan, Jalisco, México) were studied to gain insight on the origin of yeasts involved in a natural tequila fermentations. Five yeast communities were identified. (1) Fresh agave contained a diverse mycobiota dominated byClavispora lusitaniae and an endemic species,Metschnikowia agaveae. (2)Drosophila spp. from around or inside the distillery yielded typical fruit yeasts, in particularHanseniaspora spp.,Pichia kluyveri, andCandida krusei. (3)Schizosaccharomyces pombe prevailed in molasses. (4) Cooked agave and extract had a considerable diversity of species, but includedSaccharomyces cerevisiae. (5) Fermenting juice underwent a gradual reduction in yeast heterogeneity.Torulaspora delbrueckii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, andHanseniaspora spp. progressively ceded the way toS. cerevisiae, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Candida milleri, andBrettanomyces spp. With the exception ofPichia membranaefaciens, which was shared by all communities, little overlap existed. That separation was even more manifest when species were divided into distinguishable biotypes based on morphology or physiology. It is concluded that crushing equipment and must holding tanks are the main source of significant inoculum for the fermentation process.Drosophila species appear to serve as internal vectors. Proximity to fruit trees probably contributes to maintaining a substantialDrosophila community, but the yeasts found in the distillery exhibit very little similarity to those found in adjacent vegetation. Interactions involving killer toxins had no apparent direct effects on the yeast community structure.
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  • 168
    ISSN: 1439-1104
    Keywords: rhodopsin ; opsin ; photoreceptor ; retina ; dragonfly (Sympetrum frequens) ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract This paper describes the primary structure of two visual pigment opsins (DfRh1 and DfRh2) in the regionalized compound eye of a dragonfly,Sympetrum frequens. The amino acid sequences were deduced from the nucleotide sequences of cDNAs isolated from a cDNA library of the dragonfly retina. The two opsins both consist of 379 amino acids with 81.3% identity. Analysis of hydropathy indicated that the sequences have seven transmembrane domains like those of previously described opsins. Expression analysis using RT-PCR revealed that DfRh1 was present only in the dorsal region whereas DfRh2 was detected in both the dorsal and the ventral regions of the eye.
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    Molecular biology reports 22 (1995), S. 171-175 
    ISSN: 1573-4978
    Keywords: Drosophila ; hyperprocessing ; primer ; retrotransposoncopia ; reverse transcription ; RNA processing
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Hyperprocessing is defined as a further processing of mature RNA that produces another functional RNA. Hyperprocessing occurs inDrosophila cells. In the transposoncopia-related retrovirus-like particles ofDrosophila, a 39-nucleotide-long fragment from the 5′-region ofDrosophila initiator methionine tRNA is used as the primer forcopia minus-strand reverse transcription. This primer tRNA fragment is thought to be produced by cleavage within the mature tRNA sequence. We found that the catalytic RNA subunit of RNase P catalyzes this hyperprocessingin vitro and that this cleavage is dependent of the occurrence of an altered conformation of the tRNA substrate. In this review, I will summarize our work from the finding of the functional RNA fragment to the finding of a dynamic tRNA structure
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  • 170
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    Biochemical genetics 33 (1995), S. 149-165 
    ISSN: 1573-4927
    Keywords: Drosophila ; metabolic regulation ; selection ; diet ; induction
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Notes: Abstract A diet medium containing 10% (w/v) sucrose can be inferred to be stressful toDrosophila melanogaster from the increased developmental time and reduced size and fecundity of emerging flies. The metabolic basis for this stress and the genetic response to it are of interest from the point of view of both metabolic regulation and the evolutionary genetics of adaptation to stress. Here the effects of a high-sucrose diet on live weight, total protein, stored lipid and glycogen, and crude activities of 12 enzymes involved in energy metabolism were quantified. Assays were done on a large population ofDrosophila that had been acclimated to the laboratory. A collection of eggs was divided to produce two replicate populations maintained on standard medium and two replicates maintained on high-sucrose medium for 133 generations. At the end of this period, both control and sucrose-selected populations were tested on standard and on high-sucrose medium. Results showed that the immediate effect of the high-sucrose diet (compared to standard medium) for both populations was a reduction in live weight and total protein, and activities of many of the enzymes were also reduced by the sucrose treatment, even after adjusting for the weight effect. Selection resulted in several changes on both the standard and the sucrose medium, but the direction of change was not always the same as the acute effect. In no case was there a significant medium by selection-treatment interaction. The pattern of phenotypic correlations did not resolve the reasons for the direction of the genetic responses. Correlations were generally stable across diets and after selection, but there were notable exceptions.
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  • 171
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    Biochemical genetics 33 (1995), S. 73-82 
    ISSN: 1573-4927
    Keywords: mitochondrial DNA ; Drosophila ; noncoding intergenic region
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Chemistry and Pharmacology
    Notes: Abstract The sequences of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) segment containing the two intergenic regions were determined for six species belonging to theDrosophila immigrans species group and compared to the corresponding segments ofDrosophila species which had been studied previously. We found remarkable differences in the evolutionary rates of the two intergenic regions. The Intergenic I region, which lies between thetRNA gln and thetRNA ile genes, was found to be highly conserved in terms of both size (30 ntp) and nucleotide sequence among the species studied. In contrast, the sequences of the Intergenic II region, which lies between thetRNA f-met and thetRNA ile genes, showed considerable variation. The size of the Intergenic II region ranged from 0 to 88 ntp, and accurate alignment was possible only among sequences from geographical strains or very closely related species in thenasuta species subgroup. The observed differences in conservation of the two mtDNA intergenic regions are discussed in light of functional constraints on mtDNA sequences.
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  • 172
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    Genetica 96 (1995), S. 179-182 
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; aging ; density ; mortality
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Age-specific mortality rates decelerate at older ages in laboratory populations in the MedflyCeratitis capitata. This has been interpreted by Careyet al. (1992) to reflect a slowing of the aging process, but might also be explained by declining adult density. Here it is argued that the density explanation, as presented by Graves and Mueller (1993), is unpersuasive for several reasons: extrapolations fromDrosophila to Medflies are unjustified; the range of densities they studied is 2–120 times higher than that used in other studies; they ignore data on Medflies held in isolation, which rule out density effects; their own data suggest that initial cohort density has no effect on mortality rates at older ages, which is the relevant part of the life cycle; their experiment is too small to provide accurate estimates of mortality; new Medfly experiments executed at multiple densities show decelerating and then declining mortality rates at advanced ages for all densities. WhenDrosophila survivorship experiments are done on a sufficiently large scale they also show a deceleration of mortality at older ages that is not attributable to density effects. The deceleration of mortality rates is most likely a real facet of aging, and will have to be taken into consideration in any synthesis of the genetics and evolution of aging.
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  • 173
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Bari-1 ; Drosophila ; genomic organization ; transposons
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The distribution of the transposable elementBari-1 inD. melanogaster andD. simulans was examined by Southern blot analysis and byin situ hybridization in a large number of strains of different geographical origins and established at different times.Bari-1 copies mostly homogeneous in size and physical map are detected in all strains tested. Both inD. melanogaster and inD. simulans a relatively high level of intraspecific insertion site polymorphism is detectable, suggesting that in both speciesBari-1 is or has been actively transposing. The main difference between the two sibling species is the presence of a large tadem array of the element in a well-defined heterochromatic location of theD. melanogaster genome, whereas such a cluster is absent inD. simulans. The presence ofBari-1 elements with apparently identical physical maps in allD. melanogaster andD. simulans strains examined suggests thatBari-1 is not a recent introduction in the genome of themelanogaster complex. Structural analysis reveals unusual features that distinguish it from other inverted repeat transposons, whereas many aspects are similar to the widely distributedTc1 element ofC. elegans.
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  • 174
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    Evolutionary ecology 9 (1995), S. 508-519 
    ISSN: 1573-8477
    Keywords: aggregation ; polymorphism ; Drosophila ; patches ; soft-selection
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Summary A cellular model, where each individual is explicitly defined, is used to describe a population of a mycophagous species ofDrosophila. Patches represent single fungal fruiting bodies which are only available as oviposition sites for a single fly generation. Standard competition equations are used to describe the interaction between larval genotypes at each patch. Dispersal of adults is obligatory and uses a simple model of patch choice to produce aggregated arrivals of adults at fresh patches. The degree to which aggregation of adults and eggs can promote coexistence of genotypes in a one-locus, two-allele system with dominance is explored. When both phenotypes (A- andaa) are aggregated, a polymorphism can be maintained for over 1000 generations even when the selective disadvantage of one phenotype (aa) is great. This model enhances the degree of polymorphism in a population, using aggregation. It does not preclude the operation of other methods which enhance the coexistence of genotypes. Therefore, it is acting to augment the degree of polymorphism maintained in species which exploit patchy and ephemeral habitats, including allDrosophila and a wide range of other organisms.
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  • 175
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 248 (1995), S. 755-766 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase ; Guanine nucleotide metabolism
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Investigation of an enhancer-trap line exhibiting testis-specificβ-galactosidase expression led to the isolation of theDrosophila gene encoding inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPD), the rate-limiting enzyme in guanine nucleotide synthesis, which has been implicated in cell cycle control and malignant transformation. Northern and in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated that the gene has a complex expression pattern involving several independently regulated transcripts. Two ubiquitous, but highly ovary enriched, transcripts of 2.5 and 1.9 kb are expressed in the nurse cells and delivered to the oocyte, whilst a 0.9 kb transcript is found exclusively in the testis. The 2.5 kb transcript encodes a 58 kDa protein, which is highly similar in length and sequence to mouse and human IMPDs and is presumably required for GTP synthesis during early embryogenesis. Over-expression of this cDNA inEscherichia coli yielded a product of the predicted size, which was demonstrated to possess IMPD activity in a spectrophotometric assay. The coding capacity of the other transcripts is currently uncertain. We present evidence that IMPD is the product of theraspberry (ras) locus at 9E and the functions of the gene are discussed in relation to the phenotypes ofras mutants.
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 248 (1995), S. 621-628 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; CDC2 ; Fission yeast ; Cell cycle ; UV hypersensitivity
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Thecdc2 + gene product (p34cdc2) is a protein kinase that regulates entry into mitosis in all eukaryotic cells. The role that p34cdc2 plays in the cell cycle has been extensively investigated in a number of organisms, including the fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe. To study the degree of functional conservation among evolutionarily distant p34cdc2 proteins, we have constructed aS. pombe strain in which the yeastcdc2 + gene has been replaced by itsDrosophila homologue CDC2Dm (theCDC2Dm strain). ThisCDC2Dm S. pombe strain is viable, capable of mating and producing four viable meiotic products, indicating that the fly p34CDC2Dm recognizes all the essentialS. pombe cdc2 + substrates, and that it is recognized by cyclin partners and other elements required for its activity. The p34CDC2Dm protein yields a lethal phenotype in combination with the mutant B-type cyclin p56cdc13-117, suggesting that thisS. pombe cyclin might interact less efficiently with theDrosophila protein than with its native p34cdc2 counterpart. ThisCDC2Dm strain also responds to nutritional starvation and to incomplete DNA synthesis, indicating that proteins involved in these signal transduction pathways, interact properly with p34CDC2Dm (and/or that p34cdc2-independent pathways are used). TheCDC2Dm gene produces a ‘wee’ phenotype, and it is largely insensitive to the action of theS. pombe weel + mitotic inhibitor, suggesting thatDrosophila weel + homologue might not be functionally conserved. ThisCDC2Dm strain is hypersensitive to UV irradiation, to the same degree asweel-deficient mutants. A strain which co-expresses theDrosophila and yeastcdc2+ genes shows a dominantwee phenotype, but displays a wild-type sensitivity to UV irradiation, suggesting that p34cdc2 triggers mitosis and influences the UV sensitivity by independent mechanisms.
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 246 (1995), S. 334-341 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Spermatogenesis ; Transcriptional regulation ; Translational regulation ; Pyrimidine biosynthesis ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The dhod gene encodes dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOdehase), which catalyzes the fourth step of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. In addition to the common 1.5 kb dhod RNA expressed by embryos and females, adult males produce a group of slightly longer RNAs. Evidence is presented that the latter RNAs arise through transcription initiation at sites upstream from that of the common RNA and expression of these male-specific RNAs is limited to spermatogenesis. In situ hybridization analysis shows that these RNAs accumulate during spermatocyte growth and persist through meiosis and early spermatid differentiation. In contrast, DHOdehase activity is virtually absent in spermatocytes, meiotic cells, and in early spermatid cysts, then it becomes highly abundant in elongated spermatid cysts and disappears in late spermatogenesis. Thus, testis-limited expression of dhod conforms to a model proposed for other genes that function during spermiogenesis : transcription in spermatocytes, storage of translationally inactive RNA through meiosis, translation of the RNA during spermiogenesis. Very similar expression of a testis promoter-lacZ fusion transgene indicates that sequences required for the spermatogenesis transcription and translation patterns are confined to the 5′ end of the dhod gene. Deletion analysis of that 5′ region delimits all sequences necessary for spermatid expression of the transgene to a 89 by fragment. These results are discussed in the contexts of known mechanisms of gene regulation during spermatogenesis and potential roles of DHOdehase during spermiogenesis.
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 248 (1995), S. 423-433 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Transposable elements ; repleta group ; Ac family ; Hybrid instability
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The cloning and characterization ofGandalf, a new DNA-transposing mobile element obtained from theDrosophila koepferae (repleta group) genome is described. A fragment ofGandalf was found in a middle repetitive clone that shows variable chromosomal localization. Restriction, Southern blot, PCR and sequencing analyses have shown that mostGandalf copies are about 1 kb long, are flanked by 12 by inverted terminal repeats and contain subterminal repetitive regions on both sides of the element. As with other elements of the DNA-transposing type (known as the ‘Ac family’), theGandalf element generates 8 by direct duplications at the insertion point. Coding region analysis has shown that the longer open reading frame found inGandalf copies could encode part of a protein. However, whether or not the 1 kb copies of the element are actually the active transposons remains to be elucidated.Gandalf shows a very low copy number inD. buzzatii, a sibling species ofD. koepferae. An attempt to induce interspecific hybrid dysgenesis in hybrids of these two species has been unsuccessful.
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  • 179
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; janus A ; serendipity β cis-regulatory elements ; Gene cluster
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    Notes: Abstract The genes janus (Jan) A and B, and serendipity (sry) β and λ are two pairs of duplicated genes that are adjacent to each other on the third chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. The jan A and sry β genes are expressed throughout development in both males and females. They are transcribed in opposite orientations from start sites separated by only 173 by of DNA. We report here the complete sequence of the jan A and B genes in Drosophila pseudoobscura, a species distantly related to D. melanogaster in which the overall organization of the sry β, Jan A and jan B genes is identical to that in D. melanogaster. Sequence comparison of the jan A-sry β intergenic region and 5'-transcribed domain of each gene between D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura reveals short stretches of conserved sequences that may correspond to cis-acting regulator elements. In order to test the possibility that some cis-acting regulatory sequences are shared by the two genes, we carried out a deletion analysis of the jan A/sry β intergenic region in D. melanogaster using transgenic lacZ fusion genes. Our results show that sry β cis-acting sequences are located in the (-117; + 137) 5′-region of the gene and that jan A cis-regulatory sequences are included in the (-56; +151) 5′-domain of this gene. Together these data indicate that in spite of the physical proximity of the jan A and sry β genes, their transcription is regulated by separate cis-acting sequences.
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  • 180
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Hybrid dysgenesis ; Reactivity ; I element ; LINE ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The I-R hybrid dysgenesis syndrome is characterized by a high level of sterility and I element transposition, occurring in the female offspring of crosses between males of inducer (I) strains, which contain full-length transposable I elements, and females of reactive (R) strains, devoid of functional I elements. The intensity of the syndrome in the dysgenic cross is essentially dependent on the reactivity level of the R females, which is ultimately controlled by still unresolved polygenic chromosomal determinants. In the work reported here, we have introduced a transposition-defective I element with a 2.6 kb deletion within its second open reading frame into a highly reactive R strain, by P-mediated transgenesis. We demonstrate that this defective I element gradually alters the level of reactivity in the three independent transgenic lines that were obtained, over several generations. After 〉 15 generations, the transgenicDrosophila show strongly reduced reactivity, and finally become refractory to hybrid dysgenesis, without, however, acquiring the inducer phenotype. Induction of a low reactivity level is reversible reactivity again increases upon transgene removal and is maternally inherited, as observed for the control of reactivity in natural R strains. These results demonstrate that defective I elements introduced as single-copy transgenes can act as regulators of reactivity, and suggest that some of the ancestral defective pericentromeric I elements that can be found in all reactive strains could be the molecular determinants of reactivity.
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    Molecular genetics and genomics 249 (1995), S. 168-178 
    ISSN: 1617-4623
    Keywords: Drosophila ; I element ; Retrotransposon ; Horizontal transmission
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract LINE-like retrotransposons, the so-called I elements, control the system of I-R (inducer-reactive) hybrid dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. I elements are present in many Drosophila species. It has been suggested that active, complete I elements, located at different sites on the chromosomes, invaded natural populations of D. melanogaster recently (1920–1970). But old strains lacking active I elements have only defective I elements located in the chromocenter. We have cloned I elements from D. melanogaster and the melanogaster subgroup. In D. melanogaster, the nucleotide sequences of chromocentral I elements differed from those on chromosome arms by as much as 7%. All the I elements of D. mauritiana and D. sechellia are more closely related to the chromosomal I elements of D. melanogaster than to the chromocentral I elements in any species. No sequence difference was observed in the surveyed region between two chromosomal I elements isolated from D. melanogaster and one from D. simulans. These findings strongly support the idea that the defective chromocentral I elements of D. melanogaster originated before the species diverged and the chromosomal I elements were eliminated. The chromosomal I elements reinvaded natural populations of D. melanogaster recently, and were possibly introduced from D. simulans by horizontal transmission.
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    Transgenic research 4 (1995), S. 155-162 
    ISSN: 1573-9368
    Keywords: Drosophila ; transposon ; P element ; enhancer-trap ; FLP/FRT ; reverse genetics
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The introduction of cloned and manipulated genetic material into the germline of an experimental organism is one of the most powerful tools of modern biology. In the case of the fruit fly,Drosophila melanogaster, there is also an unparalleled range of sophisticated genetic tools to facilitate subsequent analysis. In consequence,Drosophila remains a most favourable model organism for the dissection of gene structure and functionin vivo. In this review we look at some of the achievements to date inDrosophila genome manipulation, and at what may be possible in the near future.
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    Development genes and evolution 204 (1994), S. 54-61 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: CNS ; Glia ; Drosophila ; BrdU
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Glial cells are of significant importance for central nervous system development and function. In insects, knowledge of the types and development of CNS glia is rather low. This is especially true for postembryonic glial development. Using bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and enhancer trap lines we identified a reproducible spatial and temporal pattern of DNA replicating cells in the abdominal larval CNS (A3-7 neuromeres) of Drosophila melanogaster. These cells correspond to embryonically established glial cells in that region. Except for a specific subfraction, these cells apparently do not divide during larval life. Similar patterns were found in two other Drosophila species, D. virilis and D. hydei.
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  • 184
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; achaete ; scute ; Taste bristles
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The sensory precursors for labellar taste bristles develop from the labial disc in three distinct temporal waves occurring at 0 h, 8 h and 14 h of pupal development. In each temporal wave, transcripts for the achaete (ac) and scute (sc) genes are expressed in overlapping patterns in cells of the disc epithelium prior to the appearance of sensory mother cells (SMCs). No bristles form in mutant flies in which the ac and sc genes are absent. When the sc gene alone is deleted, a set of seven bristles fail to form. Pulses of ubiquitous sc + expression during pupal development, in a strain mutant for both ac and sc, can result in flies with all the labellar bristles at their correct positions. sc + pulses at times corresponding to the initiation of each of the waves of SMC specification in the disc was sufficient to restore bristle pattern. Bristles were not induced at ectopic positions and times as a result of the ubiquitous expression of sc +. These results suggest that the proneural genes ac and sc do not themselves set the pattern of the labellar bristles. Instead, they are required for the elaboration of the pattern set by other gene products. We also show that the formation and positioning of the later waves of bristles can take place even in the absence of bristles normally specified earlier.
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    Development genes and evolution 203 (1994), S. 367-373 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Embryogenesis ; Morphogenetic movements ; Brain ; HRP
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Using intracellular horseradish peroxidase injection we traced the developmental fate of early gastrula cells of the procephalic region in the stage 16/17 embryo. Morphogenetic movements in the developing brain are described in three dimensions. The results are related to head segmentation, and an early gastrula fate map of pregnathal head segments is proposed.
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    Development genes and evolution 204 (1994), S. 54-61 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: CNS ; Glia ; Drosophila ; BrdU
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Glial cells are of significant importance for central nervous system development and function. In insects, knowledge of the types and development of CNS glia is rather low. This is especially true for postembryonic glial development. Using bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and enhancer trap lines we identified a reproducible spatial and temporal pattern of DNA replicating cells in the abdominal larval CNS (A3-7 neuromeres) ofDrosophila melanogaster. These cells correspond to embryonically established glial cells in that region. Except for a specific subfraction, these cells apparently do not divide during larval life. Similar patterns were found in two otherDrosophila species,D. virilis andD. hydei.
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  • 187
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Gut ; Drosophila ; Compartment ; Regional differentiation ; P-element enhancer detectors
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract We analysed spatial patterns of expression of a lacZ reporter gene in the gut of Drosophila larvae that had been transformed with a P-element-lacZ vector to identify regional differences in gene expression. lacZ-positive epithelial cells formed distinct domains with discrete transverse and longitudinal boundaries along the gut tube. Boundaries were often found at sites at which morphological boundaries were not obvious. The gut epithelium was subdivided into 36 compartments by the boundaries. We refer to these novel compartments as “tissue compartments”. The lacZ-positive domain of each strain appeared as a single tissue compartment or as a combination of several tissue compartments. The tissue compartment is considered to be a unit of regional differentiation. The spatial organization of the tissue compartments may represent the “floor plan”, determined by genes that control the regional differentiation of this nonsegmental organ.
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    Development genes and evolution 204 (1994), S. 118-125 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Drosophila ; glia ; Proneural ; Neurogenic
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The Drosophila proneural genes specify neuronal determination among cells within the ectoderm. Here we address the question of whether proneural genes also affect the specification of glia, the most abundant cell type in the nervous system. We provide evidence that the proneural gene daughterless is essential for the formation of two major classes of PNS glia. In contrast, the proneural genes in the achaete-scute complex have no detectable effect on the specification and differentiation of these PNS glia and certain CNS glia. We also show that, as with neuronal development, glial determination is restricted by the neurogenic genes neuralized, Delta, and the genes of the Enhancer of split complex. Finally, we demonstrate that prospero, a gene involved in neuronal differentiation, also affects glial development. These results demonstrate extensive overlap in the genetic control of glial and neuronal development.
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    Development genes and evolution 203 (1994), S. 266-280 
    ISSN: 1432-041X
    Keywords: Heart ; Drosophila ; Morphogenesis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
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    Notes: Abstract We have followed the normal development of the different cell types associated with the Drosophila dorsal vessel, i.e. cardioblasts, pericardial cells, alary muscles, lymph gland and ring gland, by using several tissue-specific markers and transmission electron microscopy. Precursors of pericardial cells and cardioblasts split as two longitudinal rows of cells from the lateral mesoderm of segments T2-A7 (“cardiogenic region”) during stage 12. The lymph gland and dorsal part of the ring gland (corpus allatum) originate from clusters of lateral mesodermal cells located in T3 and T1/dorsal ridge, respectively. Cardioblast precursors are strictly segmentally organized; each of T2-A6 gives rise to six cardioblasts. While moving dorsally during the stages leading up to dorsal closure, cardioblast precursors become flattened, polarized cells aligned in a regular longitudinal row. At dorsal closure, the leading edges of the cardioblast precursors meet their contralateral counterparts. The lumen of the dorsal vessel is formed when the trailing edges of the cardioblast precursors of either side bend around and contact each other. The amnioserosa invaginates during dorsal closure and is transiently attached to the cardioblasts; however, it does not contribute to the cells associated with the dorsal vessel and degenerates during late embryogenesis. We describe ultrastructural characteristics of cardioblast differentiation and discuss similarities between cardioblast development and capillary differentiation in vertebrates.
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  • 190
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Alcohol dehydrogenase ; Drosophila ; Drosophila lebanonensis ; Gene expression ; Codon usage ; Phylogenetic relationships
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The region of the genome of D. lebanonensis that contains the Adh gene and the downstream Adh-dup gene was sequenced. The structure of the two genes is the same as has been described for D. melanogaster. Adh has two promoters and Adh-dup has only one putative promoter. The levels of expression of the two genes in this species are dramatically different. Hybridizing the same Northern blots with a specific probe for Adh-dup, we did not find transcripts for this gene in D. lebanonensis. The level of Adh distal transcript in adults of D. lebanonensis is five times greater than that of D. melanogaster adults. The maximum levels of proximal transcript are attained at different larval stages in the two species, being three times higher in D. melanogaster late-second-instar larvae than in D. lebanonensis first-instar larvae. The level of Adh transcripts allowed us to determine distal and proximal initiation transcription sites, the position of the first intron, the use of two polyadenylation signals, and the heterogeneity of polyadenylation sites. Temporal and spatial expression profiles of the Adh gene of D. lebanonensis show qualitative differences compared with D. melanogaster. Adh and Adh-dup evolve differently as shown by the synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates for the coding region of both genes when compared across two species of the melanogaster group, two of the obscura group of the subgenus Sophophora and D. lebanonensis of the victoria group of the subgenus Scaptodrsophila. Synonymous rates for Adh are approximately half those for Adh-dup, while nonsynonymous rates for Adh are generally higher than those for Adh-dup. Adh shows 76.8% identities at the protein level and 70.2% identities at the nucleotide level while Adh-dup shows 83.7% identities at the protein level and 67.5% identities at the nucleotide level. Codon usage for Adh-dup is shown to be less biased than for Adh, which could explain the higher synonymous rates and the generally lower nonsynonymous substitution rates in Adh-dup compared with Adh. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed by distance matrix and parsimony methods show that Sophophora and Scaptodrosophila subgenera diverged shortly after the separation from the Drosophila subgenus.
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    Journal of molecular evolution 38 (1994), S. 637-641 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: mastermind ; Drosophila ; Homopolymer ; Repeat length variation ; Molecular drive ; Natural selection
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Interspecific sequence comparison of the highly repetitive Drosophila gene mastermind (mam) reveals extensive length variation in homopolymer domains. The length variation in homopolymers is due to nucleotide misalignment in the underlying triplet repeats, which can lead to slippage mutations during DNA replication or repair. In mam, the length variation in repetitive regions appears to be balanced by natural selection acting to maintain the distance between two highly conserved charge clusters. Here we report a statistical test of the null hypothesis that the similarity in the amino acid distance between the charge clusters of each species arose by chance. The results suggest that at mam there is a juxtaposition of length variability due to molecular drive and length conservation maintained by natural selection. The analysis of mam allows the extension of current theories of drive-selection interaction to encompass homopolymers. Our model of drive-selection equilibrium suggests that the physical flexibility, length variability, and abundance of homopolymer domains provide an important source of genetic variation for natural populations.
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  • 192
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Concerted evolution ; Molecular drive ; Drosophila ; rDNA spacers ; PCR length polymorphism ; MVR-PCR mapping
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified, sequenced, and digitally typed intergenic spacers (IGSs) of the ribosomal (r)DNA in D. melanogaster reveal unexpected features of the mechanisms of turnover involved with the concerted evolution of the gene family. Characterization of the structure of three isolated IGS length variants reveals breakage “hot spots” within the 330-base-pair (bp) subrepeat array found in the spacers. Internal mapping of variant repeats within the 240-bp subrepeat array using a novel digital DNA typing procedure (minisatellite variant repeat [MVR]-PCR) shows an unexpected pattern of clustering of variant repeats. Each 240-bp subrepeat array consists of essentially two halves with the repeats in each half identified by specific mutations. This bipartite structure, observed in a cloned IGS unit, in the majority of genomic DNA of laboratory and wild flies and in PCR-amplified products, has been widely homogenized yet is not predicted by a model of unequal crossing over with randomly placed recombination breakpoints. Furthermore, wild populations contain large numbers of length variants in contrast to uniformly shared length variants in laboratory stocks. High numbers of length variants coupled to the observation of a homogenized bipartite structure of the 240-bp subrepeat array suggest that the unit of turnover and homogenization is smaller than the IGS and might involve gene conversion. The use of PCR for the structural analysis of members of the rDNA gene family coupled to digital DNA typing provides powerful new inroads into the mechanisms of DNA turnover affecting the course of molecular evolution in this family.
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  • 193
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Artemia franciscana ; Artemia salina ; Artemia parthenogenetica ; Mitochondrial DNA evolution ; Cytochrome c oxidase I ; Cytochrome b ; Drosophila ; Arthropods ; Parthenogenesis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract From the cloned mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) isolated from two bisexual species, one Mediterranean, Artemia salina, and one American, Artemia franciscana, and two parthenogenetic (diploid and tetraploid) strains of Artemia parthenogenetica collected in Spain, physical maps have been constructed and compared. They are extremely different among themselves, much more than the differences between Drosophila melanogaster and D. yakuba and in the same range of different mammalian species such as mouse/rat or man/cow. The nucleotide sequences of two regions of mtDNA encoding parts of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cytb) genes have been determined in the two bisexual species and the two parthenogenetic strains. Comparisons of these sequences have revealed a high degree of divergence at the nucleotide level, averaging more than 15%, in agreement with the differences found in the physical maps. The majority of the nucleotide changes are silent and there is a strong bias toward transitions, with the C↔T substitutions being highly predominant. The evolutionary distance between the two Artemia parthenogenetica is high and there is no clear relationship with any of the bisexual species, including the one present nowadays in Spain. Using a combination of molecular (mtDNA) and morphological markers it is possible to conclude that all of these Artemia isolates should be actually considered as belonging to different species, even the two Artemia parthenogenetica diploidica and tetraploidica.
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  • 194
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    Journal of molecular evolution 39 (1994), S. 478-488 
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Mitochondrial DNA ; Nucleotide sequences ; Drosophila ; Rapid phyletic radiation ; Molecular phylogeny
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract Approximately 2 kb corresponding to different regions of the mtDNA of 14 different species of the obscura group of Drosophila have been sequenced. In spite of the uncertainties arising in the phylogenetic reconstruction due to a restrictive selection toward a high mtDNA A+T content, all the phylogenetic analysis carried out clearly indicate that the obscura group is formed by, at least, four well-defined lineages that would have appeared as the consequence of a rapid phyletic radiation. Two of the lineages correspond to monophyletic subgroups (i.e., afftnis and pseudoobscura), whereas the obscura subgroup remains heterogeneous assemblage that could be reasonably subdivided into at least two complexes (i.e., subobscura and obscura).
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  • 195
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Muscle-myosin heavy-chain gene ; Alternative exons ; Synonymous substitutions ; Amino acid substitutions ; Evolution ; Testis
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The muscle-myosin heavy-chain (mMHC) gene of Drosophila hydei has been sequenced completely (size 23.3 kb). The sequence comparison with the D. melanogaster mMHC gene revealed that the exonintron pattern is identical. The protein coding regions show a high degree of conservation (97%). The alternatively spliced exons (3a-b, 7a-d, 9a-c, 11a-e, and 15a-b) display more variations in the number of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitutions than the common exons (2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 19). The base composition at synonymous sites of fourfold degenerate codons (third position) is not biased in the alternative exons. In the common exons there exists a bias for C and against A. These findings imply that the alternative exons of the Drosophila mMHC gene evolve at a different, in several cases higher, rate than the common ones. The 5′ splice junctions and 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions show a high level of similarity, indicating a functional constraint on these sequences. The intron regions vary considerably in length within one species, but the corresponding introns are very similar in length between the two species and all contain stretches of sequence similarity. A particular example is the first intron, which contains multiple regions of similarity. In the conserved regions of intron 12 (head-tail border) sequences were found which have the potential to direct another smaller mMHC transcript.
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  • 196
    ISSN: 1432-1432
    Keywords: Drosophila ; Y chromosome ; Male fertility genes ; Lampbrush loops ; Germ line ; Transposable elements ; Gypsy
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract During the evolution of the Y chromosome of Drosophila hydei, retrotransposons became incorporated into the lampbrush loop pairs formed by several of the male fertility genes on this chromosome. Although insertions of retrotransposons are involved in many spontaneous mutations, they do not affect the functions of these genes. We have sequenced gypsy elements that are expressed as constituents of male fertility gene Q in the lampbrush loop pair Nooses. We find that these gypsy elements are all truncated and specifically lost those sequences that may interfere with the continuity of lampbrush loop transcription. Only defective coding regions are found within the loop. Gypsy is not transcribed in loops of many other Drosophila species harboring the family. These results suggest that any contribution of gypsy to the function of male fertility gene Q does not depend on a conserved DNA sequence.
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  • 197
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; glutamine synthetase ; isozyme functional specialization
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
    Notes: Abstract The glutamine synthetase isozymes ofDrosophila melanogaster offer an attractive model for the study of the molecular genetics and evolution of a small gene family encoding enzymatic isoforms that evolved to assume a variety of specific and sometimes essential biological functions. InDrosophila melanogaster two GS. isozymes have been described which exhibit different cellular localisation and are coded by a two-member gene family. The mitochondrial GS structural gene resides at the 21B region of the second chromosome, the structural gene for the cytosolic isoform at the 10B region of the X chromosome. cDNA clones corresponding to the two genes have been isolated and sequenced. Evolutionary analysis data are in accord with the hypothesis that the twoDrosophila glutamine synthetase genes are derived from a duplication event that occurred near the time of divergence between Insecta and Vertebrata. Both isoforms catalyse all reactions catalysed by other glutamine synthetases, but the different kinetic parameters and the different cellular compartmentalisation suggest strong functional specialisation. In fact, mutations of the mitochondrial GS gene produce embryo-lethal female sterility, defining a function of the gene product essential for the early stages of embryonic development. Preliminary results show strikingly distinct spatial and temporal patterns of expression of the two isoforms at later stages of development.
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  • 198
    ISSN: 1573-6857
    Keywords: Drosophila ; transposable elements ; hybrid dysgenesis ; transcriptional regulation ; horizontal transfer
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology
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  • 199
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    Journal of comparative physiology 175 (1994), S. 587-596 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: Wing beat frequency ; Optomotor responses ; Landing response ; Drosophila
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract The present study shows that the wing beat frequency of Drosophila is visually controlled and modulated in response to different optomotor stimuli. Whereas rotational large field stimuli do not appear to modulate wing beat frequency, single rotating vertical stripes increase or decrease wing beat frequency when moving back-to-front or front-to-back, respectively. Maximal modulations occur at lateral stripe positions. Expansion stimuli eliciting the landing response cause a marked increase in wing beat frequency. Parameters of this frequency response depend in a graded fashion on certain stimulus properties, and the frequency response co-habituates with the landing response. Several results indicate that the frequency response is an integral component of the landing response, although it can also occur when the characteristic front leg extension is not observed. The complex spatial input integration underlying the frequency response and other motor components of the landing response cannot easily be explained by a system of large field integration units, but might indicate the existence of local expansion detectors.
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  • 200
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    Journal of comparative physiology 175 (1994), S. 687-693 
    ISSN: 1432-1351
    Keywords: rdgB ; Maxillary palp ; Drosophila ; Electrophysiology ; Olfaction
    Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Abstract We describe the kinetics of odorant response in the maxillary palp of Drosophila, and show that the rate of recovery from odorant stimulation is affected by mutation of the rdgB (retinal degeneration B) gene. We use immunocytochemistry to confirm that the rdgB gene product is expressed in the maxillary palp. rdgB has recently been shown to encode a protein with Ca2+-binding sites and sequence similarity to rat brain phosphatidylinositol transfer protein; it is located near the rhabdomeric membranes in photoreceptor cells, where it has been suggested to play a role in membrane transport. The delay in recovery kinetics that we observe in olfactory tissue may reflect a defect in membrane restoration at the conclusion of the olfactory transduction cascade. The use of common molecules in the physiology of two olfactory organs, and in both visual and olfactory physiology, is discussed.
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