Studies of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster: XIV. Variation of esterase 6 levels controlled by unlinked genes in natural populations

SUMMARYThe esterase 6 (Est-6) locus in Drosophila melanogaster is located on the third chromosome and is the structural gene for a carboxylesterase (E.C.3.1.1.1) and is polymorphic for two major electromorphs (slow and fast). Isogenic lines containing X chromosomes extracted from natural populations and substituted into a common genetic background were used to detect unlinked factors that affect the activity of the Est-6 locus. Twofold activity differences of esterase 6 (EST 6) were found among males from these derived lines, which differ only in their X chromosome. These unlinked activity modifiers identify possible regulatory elements. Immunoelectrophoresis was used to estimate quantitatively the levels of specific cross-reacting material in the derived lines. The results show that the variation in activity is due to differences in the amount of EST 6 present. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that there is at least one locus on the X chromosome that regulates the synthesis of EST 6 and that this regulatory locus may be polymorphic in natural populations.

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Studies of esterase 6 in Drosophila melanogaster: XI. Modification of esterase 6 activity by unlinked genes

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672300018991 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 109-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Craig S. Tepper ◽

Rollin C. Richmond ◽

Anne L. Terry ◽

Alayne Senior

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Structural Gene ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Allelic Variation ◽

Regulatory Gene ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Gene Products ◽

Gene Variation ◽

Esterase 6 ◽

Regulatory Loci

SUMMARYThe often remarkable similarity in structural gene products among related species has led to the hypothesis that species differences may reside largely in changes at regulatory gene loci. This hypothesis assumes that groups capable of speciating have allelic variation at regulatory loci in their natural populations. We have undertaken an analysis of the mode of regulation of the esterase 6 (Est 6) locus in Drosophila melanogaster to determine the nature and extent of regulatory gene variation in natural populations. Analyses of esterase 6 (EST 6) activity among strains carrying the same thermostability variants reveal that significant, specific-activity differences are present. Reciprocal crosses between lines having high and low EST 6 activity show that loci other than the Est 6 structural gene influence EST 6 activity. Analyses of male hybrids from crosses between D. melanogaster and simulans indicate that the X chromosome of these flies affects the expression of the Est 6 locus, resulting in unequal levels of enzyme activity from the two alleles. The effect is sex and tissue specific. Female hybrids carrying the X chromosomes of both species exhibit equal expression of the two Est 6 alleles. We have determined whether natural populations are polymorphic for X chromosomes which affect EST 6 activity by extracting single X chromosomes from wild-collected males and placing these chromosomes in identical genetic backgrounds. Stocks which are otherwise genetically identical but carry independently derived X chromosomes show significant differences in the activity of EST 6. These data suggest that regulatory loci may be commonly polymorphic in natural populations.

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Alcohol dehydrogenase activity in Drosophila melanogaster: a quantitative character

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672300015871 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 81-93 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

R. D. Ward

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Alcohol Dehydrogenase ◽

Dehydrogenase Activity ◽

Structural Gene ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Quantitative Character ◽

Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity ◽

Activity Modifiers ◽

Selection For ◽

Adh Activity

SUMMARYAlcohol dehydrogenase activity in Drosophila melanogaster may be considered as a quantitative character, since it shows many features typically associated with such traits. Although strains with the electrophoretically fast phenotype generally have activities greater than those with the slow phenotype, presumably reflecting differences in the nucleotide sequences of the structural alleles, within each electrophoretic class there is considerable variation in activity. The expression of the structural gene, in terms of ADH activity, is to some extent regulated by its genetic background. Strains homozygous for particular structural alleles respond to divergent directional selection for ADH activity. Modifiers have been located to the X, second and third chromosomes.

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A CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE PHOSPHODIESTERASE ACTIVITIES IN DROSOPHILA

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/85.4.609 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 85 (4) ◽

pp. 609-622

Author(s):

John A Kiger ◽

Eric Golanty

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Structural Gene ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Cyclic Nucleotide ◽

Phosphodiesterase Activity ◽

Structural Genes ◽

Camp Phosphodiesterase ◽

Cgmp Phosphodiesterase ◽

The Third ◽

Segmental Aneuploidy

ABSTRACT The genome of Drosophila melanogaster has been surveyed for chromosomal regions which exert a dosage effect on the activities of cAMP phosphodiesterase or cGMP phosphodiesterase. Two regions increase cAMP phosphodiesterase activity when present as duplications. A region of the X chromosome increases cAMP phosphodiesterase activity when duplicated and decreases that activity when deficient. This region has been delimited to chromomeres 3D3 and 3D4, with 3D4 being the most probable locus, and may contain a structural gene for cAMP phosphodiesterase. A region on the third chromosome, 90E-91B, increase cAMP phosphodiesterase activity when duplicated but has no affect on the activity when deficient. Two regions increase cGMP phosphodiesterase activity when present as duplications. A region of the X chromosome, 5D-9C, increases cGMP phosphodiesterase activity when duplicated, but smaller duplications covering this region fail to show such an increase, indicating that a single locus is not responsible for the increase observed for the larger duplication. A region of the third chromosome, 88C-91B, also increases cGMP phosphodiesterase activity when duplicated. Smaller duplications covering this region show smaller increases than that observed for the larger duplication, suggesting that at least three loci between 88C and 91B contribute to the observed increase by that region. Deficiencies covering region 88C-91B do not affect cGMP phosphodiesterase activity. No locus for a presumptive structural gene for cGMP phosphodiesterase has been found. Limitations of the use of segmental aneuploidy in locating structural genes for enzymes are discussed.

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CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CHROMOSOME SEGMENTS AND FITNESS IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. IV. FECUNDITY, VIABILITY AND THE THIRD CHROMOSOME

Canadian Journal of Genetics and Cytology ◽

10.1139/g80-049 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 405-410 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

William Chapco

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Egg Production ◽

Adjacent Segment ◽

Egg Viability ◽

Clear Pattern ◽

The Third ◽

Chromosome Segments ◽

Agricultural Implications

Unmarked segments within the third chromosomes of three different Drosophila melanogaster lines were assessed for their effects on egg production and egg viability. By making a series of crosses among original and derived recombinant lines, it was possible to estimate parameters representing additive, dominance (for egg production), and interaction effects of the segments. Each segment influences both traits, but to extents which are dependent on the genetic background provided by an adjacent segment. There is no clear pattern, however, with respect to the segments' joint effects on the two characters. Unlike in the previous study involving the X chromosome, the majority of the derived recombinant lines were superior in fitness to their original lines. The agricultural implications of this result with respect to the manipulation of chromosomal segments in order to achieve higher yields are discussed.

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GENETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL BASIS OF ENZYME ACTIVITY VARIATION IN NATURAL POPULATIONS. I. ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/89.2.371 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 89 (2) ◽

pp. 371-388

Author(s):

John F McDonald ◽

Francisco J Ayala

Keyword(s):

Gene Regulation ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Alcohol Dehydrogenase ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Difficult Problem ◽

Regulatory Genes ◽

Biochemical Basis ◽

Evolutionary Consequence ◽

The Third ◽

Adh Activity

ABSTRACT Recent studies by various authors suggest that variation in gene regulation may be common in nature, and might be of great evolutionary consequence; but the ascertainment of variation in gene regulation has proven to be a difficult problem. In this study, we explore this problem by measuring alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in Drosophila melanogaster strains homozygous for various combinations of given second and third chromosomes sampled from a natural population. The structural locus (Adh) coding for ADH is on the second chromosome. The results show that: (1) there are genes, other than Adh, that affect the levels of ADH activity; (2) at least some of these "regulatory" genes are located on the third chromosome, and thus are not adjacent to the Adh locus; (3) variation exists in natural populations for such regulatory genes; (4) the effect of these regulatory genes varies as they interact with different second chromosomes; (5) third chromosomes with high-activity genes are either partially or completely dominant over chromosomes with low-activity genes; (6) the effects of the regulatory genes are pervasive throughout development; and (7) the third chromosome genes regulate the levels of ADH activity by affecting the number of ADH molecules in the flies. The results are consistent with the view that the evolution of regulatory genes may play an important role in adaptation.

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Hybrid dysgenesis-induced quantitative variation on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/124.3.627 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 124 (3) ◽

pp. 627-636

Author(s):

C Q Lai ◽

T F Mackay

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Quantitative Traits ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Quantitative Variation ◽

Hybrid Dysgenesis ◽

X Chromosomes ◽

Bristle Number ◽

Seven Generations ◽

Polygenic Variation

Abstract To determine the ability of the P-M hybrid dysgenesis system of Drosophila melanogaster to generate mutations affecting quantitative traits, X chromosome lines were constructed in which replicates of isogenic M and P strain X chromosomes were exposed to a dysgenic cross, a nondysgenic cross, or a control cross, and recovered in common autosomal backgrounds. Mutational heritabilities of abdominal and sternopleural bristle score were in general exceptionally high-of the same magnitude as heritabilities of these traits in natural populations. P strain chromosomes were eight times more mutable than M strain chromosomes, and dysgenic crosses three times more effective than nondysgenic crosses in inducing polygenic variation. However, mutational heritabilities of the bristle traits were appreciable for P strain chromosomes passed through one nondysgenic cross, and for M strain chromosomes backcrossed for seven generations to inbred P strain females, a result consistent with previous observations on mutations affecting quantitative traits arising from nondysgenic crosses. The new variation resulting from one generation of mutagenesis was caused by a few lines with large effects on bristle score, and all mutations reduced bristle number.

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THE EFFECTS OF HETEROZYGOSITY CHANGES ON VIABILITY IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/70.4.595 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 70 (4) ◽

pp. 595-610

Author(s):

Ray Moree

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Genetic Background ◽

Laboratory Strain ◽

Theoretical Expectation ◽

Wild Type ◽

Small Deviations ◽

The Third ◽

The Difference

ABSTRACT The viability effects of chromosomes from an old and from a new laboratory strain of D. melanogaster were studied in eight factorial combinations and at two heterozygosity levels. The combinations were so constructed that heterozygosity level could be varied in the third chromosomes of the carriers of a homozygous lethal marker, in the third chromosomes of their wild-type segregants, and in the genetic backgrounds of both. Excluding the effect of the marker and the exceptional outcomes of two of the combinations, and taking into account both large and small deviations from theoretical expectation, the following summary is given as the simplest consistent explanation of the results: 1) If total heterozygosities of two segregant types tend toward equality their viabilities tend toward equality also, whether background heterozygosity is high or low; if background heterozygosities is higher the tendency toward equality is slightly greater. 2) If total heterozygosity of two segregant types are unequal the less heterozygous type has the lower viability; the difference is more pronounced when background heterozygosity is low, less when it is high. 3) Differences between segregant viabilities are correlated with differences between the total heterozygosities of the two segregants; genetic background is effective to the extent, and only to the extent, that it contributes to the magnitude of this difference. This in turn appears to underlie, at least partly, the expression of a pronounced interchromosomal epistasis. Thus in this study viability is seen to depend upon both the quantity and distribution of heterozygosity, not only among the chromosomes of an individual but among the individuals of a given combination as well.

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Interactions and developmental effects of mutations in the Broad-Complex of Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/118.2.247 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 118 (2) ◽

pp. 247-259

Author(s):

I Kiss ◽

A H Beaton ◽

J Tardiff ◽

D Fristrom ◽

J W Fristrom

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Genetic Locus ◽

Larval Instar ◽

Imaginal Discs ◽

Functional Domains ◽

Developmental Processes ◽

The Third ◽

Developmental Effects ◽

Broad Complex

Abstract The 2B5 region on the X chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster forms an early ecdysone puff at the end of the third larval instar. The region contains a complex genetic locus, the Broad-Complex (BR-C) composed of four groups of fully complementing (br, rbp, l(1)2Bc, and l(1)2Bd) alleles, and classes of noncomplementing (npr 1) and partially noncomplementing l(1)2Bab alleles. BR-C mutants prevent metamorphosis, including the morphogenesis of imaginal discs. Results are presented that indicate that the BR-C contains two major functional domains. One, the br domain is primarily, if not exclusively, involved in the elongation and eversion of appendages by imaginal discs. The second, the l(1)2Bc domain, is primarily involved in the fusion of discs to form a continuous adult epidermis. Nonetheless, the two domains may encode products with related functions because in some situations mutants in both domains appear to affect similar developmental processes.

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Effects of autosomal inversions on meiotic exchange in distal and proximal regions of the X chromosome in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672300032080 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 57-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Paul D. Sniegowski ◽

Anne Pringle ◽

Kimberly A. Hughes

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Natural Population ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Element Abundance ◽

Recombination Rates ◽

Interchromosomal Effect ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Study Population ◽

Transposable Element Abundance

SummaryWe have investigated the interchromosomal effect of the naturally-occurring paracentric inversions In(2L)t and In(3R)P on meiotic recombination in two regions of the X chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster. Previous authors have suggested that the rate of recombination at the tip of the X chromosome may be substantially higher in some natural populations than values measured in the laboratory, due to the interchromosomal effect of heterozygous autosomal inversions. This suggestion was motivated by observations that transposable elements are not as common at the tip of the X chromosome as predicted by recent research relating reduced meiotic exchange to increased element abundance in D. melanogaster. We examined the effects of heterozygous In(2L)t and In(3R)P on recombination at both the tip and base of the X chromosome on a background of isogenic major chromosomes from a natural population. Both inversions substantially increased the rate of recombination at the base; neither one affected recombination at the tip. The results suggest that the presence of inversions in the study population does not elevate rates of crossing over at the tip of the X chromosome. The relevance of these results to ideas relating transposable element abundance to recombination rates is discussed.

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LACK OF DOSAGE COMPENSATION FOR AN AUTOSOMAL GENE RELOCATED TO THE X CHROMOSOME IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/85.3.489 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 489-496

Author(s):

Richard L Roehrdanz ◽

James M Kitchens ◽

John C Lucchesi

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Experimental Evidence ◽

Structural Gene ◽

X Chromosome ◽

Dosage Compensation ◽

Oxidase Activity ◽

Aldehyde Oxidase ◽

Autosomal Gene

ABSTRACT Aldehyde oxidase activity has been measured in flies with the structural gene for this enzyme translocated to the X chromosome. These measurements are presented as experimental evidence that, in Drosophila melanogaster, an autosomal gene relocated to the X chromosome is not dosage compensated.

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