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Genetic instability in Drosophila melanogaster

Evidence for insertion mutations

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Summary

An X chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster is described which is mutationally unstable. Mutational events were identified through phenotypic changes associated with a tandem duplication of the X chromosome in which the white locus is present in duplicate. The left segment of the tandem duplication was marked with the mutant w sp, the right segment with mutant w 17G. Some of the phenotypic changes were identified as deletions involving the w 17G marked segment of the duplication. Other phenotypic changes involved the left segment in which phenotypically w sp mutated to w. Experimental evidence is presented which attributes these latter mutations to insertions of “foreign” DNA into the w locus equivalent to the insertion mutations of E. coli.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, University of Umeå, Sweden

    B. Rasmuson & Britt-Marie Karlsson

  2. Department of Genetics, University of California, Davis, CA., U.S.A.

    M. M. Green

Authors
  1. B. Rasmuson
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  2. M. M. Green
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  3. Britt-Marie Karlsson
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Communicated by E. Hadorn

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Rasmuson, B., Green, M.M. & Karlsson, BM. Genetic instability in Drosophila melanogaster . Molec. Gen. Genet. 133, 237–247 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267673

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00267673

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